Get the Scoop on Ice Cream, Summer's Favorite Dessert
Matt Armendariz, 2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
I scream, you scream. Everyone seems to be screaming about ice cream right now. And as the mercury continues its seasonal climb, the cries may grow louder, the cravings stronger.
The New York Times dedicated its Dining section last week to frozen treats. The new and trendy, soft and custardy, shaved and crushed, fancy and French, malted and milky, the ethnic and exotic all get their shivery due. The paper's tribute to local ice cream parlors may inspire some readers to make nostalgic trips home and prompt others to make previously unscheduled stops during summer road trips. And Melissa Clark's DIY tips and recipes — and her urging to experiment and taste — may inspire a new generation of ice cream tinkerers.
But Gray Lady is hardly the only who has caught cold-and-creamy fever this past week. NPR's The Salt blog looks at a machine that dispenses frozen yogurt, the Frobot, and its "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" humorists riff on the "frozen custard confection … on crack" known as the Concrete. "So the thing about these is you can flip them over and they don't fall out," one of them, Ian, says of the Concrete at Ted Drewes, in St. Louis. "Yet I can eat it easily with a spoon. Therefore my desire to have food in me is stronger than gravity."
The The San Francisco Chronicle cutely lets locals know what their ice cream preferences say about them. ABC News offers a cool infographic illustrating America's ice cream sundae preferences — from wet and dry toppings (whipped cream and Oreo cookies top those lists) to the ice cream itself (we are a nation of vanilla lovers). The Huffington Post compiles a list of the ice cream flavors it deems the worst: While bacon, garlic, horseradish, pizza and lobster ice creams clearly belong on that list, I, personally, feel that butter pecan does not deserve a spot in their company — and I'm sure my children would say the same about the flavors bubblegum and birthday cake.
If all these paeans to summer's favorite dessert have stoked your hunger, grab a spoon: Food Network has lots of ice cream recipes for you to try.
Get scooping.
Related Reading:
- Make ice cream in a bag
- Build a better ice cream sandwich
- Whip up a thick chocolate shake that beats your local soda fountain
- Ice Cream Cakes and Pies
- 40 Frozen Treat Recipes