I have heard many wonderful things about Mexican ice cream (helados). People have said how creamy, soft, and light it is. I have read forums by people trying madly to recreate it, trying to discover the secret. Some say it must be the brand of water they use; others think there is some secret freezing method. With all of the mystery and fascination, I was not prepared for what I found.

All of the stores seem to carry three major brands of ice cream: Nestle, Holanda, and Haagen-Dazs. There is a huge price difference between the Nestle and Holanda brands and Haagen-Dazs which piqued my curiosity. At first I thought it might be because Haagen-Dazs is an import, but I decided to check the labels.

The first ingredient on both the Nestle and Holanda ice creams is vegetal grasa – vegetable oil. Reading further, I discovered that there is no dairy of any kind in either brand, just oil, water, flavorings, and whatever chemicals they need to make vegetable oil seem like ice cream. It makes sense that the ice cream is soft, vegetable oil doesn't freeze hard. It doesn't really seem to melt either.

With some trepidation, I read the label on the Haagen-Dazs. Whew! Still the same wonderful ice cream I get in the US. Only problem is it costs about $6.50 US a pint. Sams has it for $9.50 a half gallon. And it only seems available to come in one flavor: Dulce de Leche. Good thing its my favorite.