Nice and Dreamy Rice Dream (Rice Dream)

Member Name: rachelew

Product:	Rice Dream
Date:	05/07/09 (49 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Vegetarian, Vegan, tasty, low fat.

Disadvantages: Not great to use in hot drinks.

My husband cannot tolerate dairy products as he has a problem with eczema. He does like to eat a lot of cereal though so we are always looking for dairy milk alternatives to pour over it. Rice Dream is the latest in a long line of milk alternatives to enter our fridge. According to husband, it is the nicest so far.

I have tried Rice Dream, which is rice based, and would have to say that I do prefer soya based milk alternatives. However, there are health risks reported with too much soya intake so if that is something that concerns you I would say that Rice Dream is one of the best rice milks around, certainly the nicest I have tried.

The Rice Dream I am reviewing is the Organic Vanilla flavour. The packaging is attractive (very different form the dooyoo picture.) The cardboard carton is custard yellow, pale blue and green. There is something about the combination of colours that make this product look really fresh and appetising. The carton has a clip down plastic pourer, so no dodgy cutting off the corner of the box and spilling it everywhere! The packaging is fully recyclable.

Rice dream is a dairy milk alternative made from, you guessed it, rice. You can drink it on it's own, use it for cooking and baking or to pour over cereals. If you add it to hot drinks you need to let them cool slightly first or it will curdle. The Vanilla flavour really is lovely to drink. It is smooth and sweet and the vanilla flavour is nice and natural. It is completely different to cow's milk, so you need to bear in mind that it will taste different.

Rice dream is low in fat, easily digestible, cholesterol free, lactose free and suitable for both vegetarians and vegans. 100ml of the product provides you with 51 calories and 0.1 grams of saturated fat (nice and low.) It will also give you 4.6 grams of sugar, although none of this is added, it is sugar produced during the fermentation of the rice.

Rice Dream is also available in plain organic, plain with added calcium, chocolate flavour and hazelnut and almond flavour. You can take a look at their range and get more information at www.taste the dream.eu. A 1 litre carton costs around £1.60.

All in all a really tasty dairy alternative, but please remember it's not supposed to taste like cow's milk!

Summary: A great dairy alternative.