Ice cream: truly the greatest food ever invented. It deserves hours upon hours of investigation, research and indulgence. No day is a good day without the ingestion of ice cream. In fact, according to the chick flicks where a jilted woman indulges in the frozen comfort, no day with ice cream is a bad day. Ice cream can cool your body on a warm summer day, enhance any birthday cake and heal a broken heart.
Ice cream has been around for centuries, but probably consisted more of ice than cream. Many ancient cultures, like the oh-so-brilliant Greeks, made snow cones with snow and honey, fruit or wine. There are many legends surrounding the origin of this frozen treat. Some sources say it was an Eastern invention, some say it was a Western one. Like all great things, controversy over who gets the credit is expected. I say, "Who cares?" As long as Harris Teeter sells it in vast quantities, I am satisfied.
Ice cream is the best dessert in the world, and I can defend this statement against all other contending desserts. If cookies are your preferred baked good, you can eat cookie dough ice cream. The difference is like the difference between a clover and an iris. Both are attractive plants, and while clovers are pretty, irises are glorious. If you prefer candy, all candies are represented in some form or another of ice cream. What about the (weird) people who like to cleanse their palates with healthy fruit after a good meal? Well, then strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and banana (the list goes on and on) are just some flavors to try. Finally, for the people who prefer cake, ice cream comes in cake flavors (such as birthday cake or German chocolate cake), and it even comes in cake form for those prejudiced against the bowl and spoon.
I don't know why I worded the previous paragraph so aggressively. It is almost like I felt I had to argue in favor of ice cream. Obviously the matter is already settled. Everyone loves frozen concoctions that taste delicious. The world hosts many different varieties of what we know as ice cream. In Italy, gelato is the thing to eat. In Japan, green tea flavored ice cream is a favorite. In Australia and New Zealand, something like 20 liters a year are consumed per person (slightly behind the U.S.' 23 -- of course the U.S. wins any contest of consumption). The U.K. is slightly pathetic with only 6 liters a year consumed per person. Perhaps this is why they lost the Revolutionary War.
Did you know that vanilla tops the list of favorite flavors? I once came upon a Web site that listed your best ice cream match according to your sign. As a Capricorn, the site stated that I would love strawberry ice cream but my "iron disposition" wouldn't allow me to indulge in it too often. Although I do love strawberry, I immediately dismissed the site because I have no such thing as an iron disposition for refusing ice cream. I do think your favorite ice cream does say a bit about your character though. For instance, you vanilla lovers are rather boring, and you bubblegum ice cream lovers need to work out some issues from childhood.
Ice cream cones are also rather important. According to a legend, the cone originated at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. The ice cream vendor ran out of dishes, so he borrowed some waffles from the vendor next door. That was a brilliant effect of a deficit in supply. However, can you imagine how different the world would be if the ice cream vendor had been next to a hot dog stand? Meat filled ice cream treats might not have made it as far.
I often ponder sprinkles. How did they become popular? More importantly, how were they first created and discovered? When I was a kid I thought a rainbow had just fallen apart and landed on my ice cream cone. Now I am older and wiser and know that the probability that the rainbow pieces would land only on my ice cream and not on my head and the surrounding pavement as well is very slim. So I have another theory that includes fairies and jewels.
All things considered, you lactose-intolerant kids are missing out.
Maggie's column runs biweekly Fridays. She can be reached at jones@cavalierdaily.com.
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