In late 2017, Swedish food researcher and Lund University professor Eva Tornberg revealed that she’d found a way to turn ordinary potatoes into a surprisingly rich and creamy milk-like drink by blending them with rapeseed oil and heating that combination in a hyper-specific way.
Tornberg tested her omega-3 rich potato “emulsion” in her lab and in a factory, and she hoped that the ultra-sustainable, vegan-friendly, dairy replacement drink would be available in retailers within the next year.
“[Vegans] can have a hard time getting the vital fat omega-3, which is mostly found in fatty fish,” Tornberg said in a statement released by the University. “For them and others, the product can serve as an alternative to flaxseed and rapeseed oil or health supplements.”
Already available in a handful of countries, the product purportedly uses way less water than almonds and oats.
There are three different varieties of DUG: Original, Unsweetened, and a Barista version which, according to the company’s website, “foams just the way you want it to,” making it “the perfect choice for all the pro (and non-pro) baristas.” And, in addition to being dairy-free, DUG is also gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, and contains no added sugar.
But what DUG seems to be most proud of is the sustainability that comes from being made from potatoes.
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