Extracts and Food Colorings

At Ample Hills, we only use all-natural extracts. Even our cotton candy extract is all-natural (sourced from Nature’s Flavors). We try not to put anything into our ice cream that we can’t pronounce! But really, no artificial flavor can stand up to the quality of the real thing. Use 100 percent pure vanilla, pure peppermint, and the like, and it’ll make a big difference.

When you want to color your ice cream blue or green or red, we recommend using all-natural food dyes. They are trickier to use than artificial colorings because all-natural dyes come from vegetable and plant sources and often impart flavor when used in large doses. So experiment. It’s rewarding to create a colorful, fun recipe using all-natural ingredients—but we won’t judge you if you break down and use artificial colors. We’ve had to do it from time to time!