An ice cream that cares

NOTO’s natural fruit pops

This sultry summer has us in the mood for one thing and one thing only: ice cream. It's a delicious, beat-the-heat staple for the season. Ashni and Varun Sheth, founders of NOTO, a homegrown ice cream brand, say it's fine to eat ice cream often, if it's healthy. They claim theirs is. NOTO is a low-calorie ice cream with no added sugar or preservatives. The couple felt it was time to introduce healthy desserts to the Indian market.

Varun and Ashni Sheth

Varun, who has a degree in culinary arts from New York, says, "This generation is acutely aware of what is on its plate. Diets are no longer a passing fad, but rather a lifestyle. People want to eat well in order to feel well. We wish to give them that." The general perception, explains Ashni, who is a design graduate from Istituto Marangoni, Milan, is that what tastes delicious is also unhealthy. "Varun worked on the recipe for a year to produce flavours customers will crave for rather than settle for," she says.

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The brand is named after a small town in Sicily, famous for its creamy ice creams. For now, they have rolled out classics like French vanilla, dark chocolate, mocha choco-chip and salted caramel, along with seasonal fruit specials like mango cream, spicy pink guava, malai kulfi and cereal milk. They also serve ice popsicles in imli, jamun, pina colada, strawberry, raspberry, and mango coconut flavours.

A 125 ml tub of NOTO contains 75-95 calories, three grams of fat, 75 per cent less sugar, and more protein. The popsicles, they claim, contain no added sugar and are made with 40 per cent real unsweetened fruit, apple concentrate, vitamin C, and prebiotic fibre. This writer ordered the spicy pink guava and mango cream tub (Rs 95 for 125ml), and two popsicles (Rs 105 each), imli and jamun, and we were not let down. The claim of ‘no compromise on sweetness and taste' is correct. The spicy pink guava, made using guava pulp with a sprinkle of chilli powder, was a hit.

Healthy NOTO tubs

The little burst of chilli elevated the flavour. The mango's texture was soft and smooth. That said, the sweetness was understated compared to the spicy guava, and since it's a mango ice cream, we expected to see more of the fruit. We think it's ideal for those battling sugar cravings, but watching sugar intake. The imli popsicle was like chewing the tangy fruit. We sprinkled a pinch of salt and chilli powder over it, before taking the slurp. The jamun flavour was a standout, tasting fresh tiny bits of the fruit. It tasted like pure fruit on a stick.

To Order: www.eatnoto.com
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