Skip to main content

lactose-free pineapple ice cream? C'est possible!

How can ice cream be lactose-free? And how can it be pineapple flavoured? I mean, there's ice cream that isn't made up of milk? And have food developers figured out how to deal with the enzymes in pineapples that break down milk proteins?

Apparently, Hawaiians have pineapple ice cream as a regular treat. So, I wanted to try this yummy dessert...  and I was particularly interested because I am lactose-intolerant. I finally got to taste this at the Dole Plantation in Wahiawa, Hawaii, in the heart of the island of O'ahu. 


And no, I didn't ride the choo-choo train to reach the ice cream shop. This train is intended for visitors who wanted to visit the plantation and to see the famous maze. For some reason, seeing the train in the context of pineapples reminded me of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the film I first saw in Sydney and whose numerous scenes were shot in central Australia. 


I was quite worried that there might be a long queue for the ice cream at the shop because there were a lot of tour buses parked outside. True, the shop was packed, but many of them were checking out the boxed pineapple products and not the ice cream. It took me about five minutes to get it.


I am happy to report that the ice cream lived up to my expectations. It was so yummy!I was just surprised that it (along with any food served in America) came jumbo-sized. How was I supposed to finish this off in ten minutes before I had to leave again?!? Oh, and did I say that the day started off cold? I ended up shivering after chomping down on the ice cream!

As I found a spot to eat my ice cream outdoors, I passed by this gumball section. As everything else in the store, it's pineapple-flavoured! I just had to skip this, though, because I have been avoiding bubble gum for two decades now.


It was fun to be at the Dole Plantation. Too bad I was only there for a few minutes... just enough to literally get a taste and to want more. When I find myself in O'ahu again, I'll spend more time here... probably half a day. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

10 things I learned while driving on Marcos Highway to Baguio City

I went on a day trip to the City of Pines, which was around a 700-km drive from my house. I drove  going up there and then from the city to Victoria, Tarlac. After that, my dad took over the driving duties. It was day trip with Tita Ising and Tito Sibing with us. Anyway, this trip was my first time to go to Baguio City with me behind the wheel. As everyone who drives up knows, there are three main routes to Baguio from the lowlands: Kennon Road, which ascends from Rosario, La Union. It was out of my options because it's too dangerous to use that road in the rainy season. The second route is via Naguilian Road, which makes my trip a lot longer because the beginning of the ascent is in Bauang, La Union (further north). The last route, and the one I took, was the Marcos Highway, now known as the Aspiras-Palispis Highway. This 47-km road starts from Agoo, La Union and is touted as the safest route among the three.  As I drove up and then down (on the same day; we were in Bagu

How MALDI-TOF-MS makes mycobacterium diagnosis faster and more accurate

The laboratory I work in has plenty of instruments that help us characterise and identify microorganisms causing diseases in patients. One of my current projects is to validate an instrument called "matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometer" (MALDI-TOF-MS) in identifying members of the Mycobacterium  species. Many of these organisms are opportunistic, meaning they only cause illnesses in people whose immune systems are not strong enough to fight infections. Mycobacterium leprae  is known for causing leprosy, but we cannot grow this bacterium in culture media, so we cannot isolate it. Mycobacterium tuberculosis  complex, on the other hand, is a group of several species of Mycobacterium  that causes tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a disease that killed 1.6 million people in 2021 alone. It is a leading cause of death globally, second only to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Identifying the Mycobacterium species that has infected a patient is

a crash course on traditional Filipino houses

On Dr Jose Rizal's birthday this year, I was back in historic Manila with Ate Bing, Ate Mary , and Manuel . But instead of visiting him, we opted to soak up on Philippine culture. Our first stop: the Cultural Center of the Philippines ' (CCP) Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino .  Aside from the musical instruments, I noticed the dioramas about Filipino homes. Filipinos living by the sea (the 'sea gypsies', Sama Dilaut or Badjao ) have boathouses; those who live in the mountains, like the Bagobos , have developed interconnected houses in the trees; Filipinos who live along the path of the strongest typhoon winds, such as the Ivatans , have developed houses of thick limestone walls; and people who live in calmer conditions used bamboo and nipa to construct their houses, like the lowlanders and the Agtas . Sama Dilaut 'lepa' and houses on stilts (in the background) Ivatan limestone house nipa hut Ifugao 'fale' Maranao '