"Ba, you should open a shop." This 80-year-old dadi has been selling 27 varieties of ice cream made in kadhai and wooden containers since 1986

When it comes to summer desserts, we all love ice creams. It is a comforting frozen dessert mainly made with milk, sugar, and flavours in the form of syrup or fresh fruits and it not only pleases the taste buds, it also calms the senses amidst the scorching summer heat.

Having said that, the buzz around the use of preservatives and adulterants in frozen food often scares us to say yes to ice cream too. While we all know the leading brands and the flavours they offer, but do you know that there is quaint ice cream shop in Ahmedabad that has been selling preservative-free ice creams since 1986? Scroll down to read the details.

A quaint ice cream brand functional since 1986

According to a The Better India report, there exists an ice cream shop in Ahmedabad, run by 80-year-old Niranjana Desai, popularly known ad Niruben, who has specialised in the art of making preservative-free homemade ice cream and has been preparing fresh batches from scratch every day in her kitchen without using any artificial flavours or preservatives.

She started making ice creams out of love for friends, family and neighbours and the city started noticing and suggested, "Ba, you should open a shop" and soon she opened her shop- Niruben Icecream or Niru Baa Ice Cream (also known as Niruben Icecreamwala) with just 5 flavours.

What makes these ice creams special

Niruben's ice creams are not just free of preservatives, they are also made with just four simple ingredients- fresh milk, stevia, cream, and fruits or dry fruits.

According to a report by the Vibes of India, she started her ice cream venture in January 1986 from her home kitchen, where she prepared the ice creams on a simply gas stove and in last 4 decades her business evolved into a dedicated workspace equipped with a traditional furnace and a separate room exclusively meant for ice cream preparation.According to a report by Economic Times, Amrit Bhai, a long-time employee associated with he family for voer three decades shared that till date, Niruben's ice cream preparation follows the traditional process, and instead of relying on large ice cream making machines, her team prepares the base of the frozen dessert in a conventional setup using a massive kadhai placed over a large furnace to boil milk and then ice cream is frozen in traditional wooden containers.

Raw material and flavours

According to reports, the raw material of fresh milk and cream is sourced from a local dairy and every day fresh batches of ice creams are prepared. What started as a humble business with limited flavours including rose coconut, variyali, chocolate, badam pista kesar and kesar elaichi, has now expanded its flavours to 27 varieties including lemon and ginger. And as the ice creams are preservatives free, their shelf life is just 7 days.

What does this teach us

In times, when adulteration and use of preservatives are helping market players maximize their profit, Niruben's honesty towards her passion and customers is a learning lesson for those who are planning to convert their passion into profession. Her dedication and sincerity to her work teaches us that age is just a number and if you are wiling to work, there is always a way.