A purely plant-based ice cream, containing valuable proteins from the seeds of the indigenous blue sweet lupin, completely free of lactose, gluten, cholesterol and animal proteins and fats, is produced and marketed by Prolupin GmbH, a spinoff of the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, Freising, Germany.

There have been repeated attempts in the past to create food products from lupins. The secret behind the ice cream lies in the selection of the lupin variety, combined with a special production method. The blue sweet lupin is particularly rich in protein, has a balanced flavor, flourishes when grown in Germany and naturally improves soil quality with its nitrogen-binding roots. The researchers use the high-quality protein from the seeds to make the ice cream. The cholesterol-regulating effects of the lupin protein make the new ice cream nutritiously valuable at the same time.

The ice cream is on offer at EDEKA Südbayern and EDEKA Südwest in Germany.

• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., Munich, Germany