Like most people, we enjoy having the opportunity to tingle our taste buds pleasurably with ice cream. And we like to have a few buckets of ice cream on hand in our refrigerator so that when the mood strikes to enjoy that delectable treat, we don't have to venture too far.

We're not too adventurous, don't particularly enjoy ice cream that has been tampered with to include all manner of other goodies, like broken chocolate, cookies, and a variety of other treat-temping-for-children items that transforms the simple pleasures of having the stock flavours of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate morph into something completely other.

And then, a few weeks ago, there was a fascinating and taste-damping article in the week-end section of our local newspaper. Setting out clearly and alarmingly the kinds of ingredients that are commonly present in commercial broad-appeal ice cream and ice-cream-products. Leaving us nonplussed and unimpressed with what we and other oblivious ice cream lovers have been imbibing.

For example, Guar gum included as a water-soluble fibre thickener, which is also a laxative. Including sodium citrate as an emulsifier, along with sodium chloride for preservation. And the colourant tartrazine, a coal tar derivative that can increase hyperactivity in children and inflames the lining of the stomach.

And then there's sodium benzoate, a preservative that is also used in fireworks, that causes the loud whistling sound when they go off. Diet ice creams may also include dimethylpolysiloxane, which is a silicone used in contact lenses, shampoo, and caulking.

Oh right, and microcrystalline cellulose, a polymer derived from wood pulp, used as a fat substitute and anti-caking agent. And artificial flavours "typically produced by fractional distillation and additional chemical manipulation (of) naturally sourced chemicals or from crude oil or coal tar".

You get the picture. We're now in the market for our very own ice-cream-maker. So we can control the ingredients in the ice cream that we consume.