You may not have known, National Ice Cream month was July! Perfect timing for me as I screamed “ice cream is what I need right now”. Ice cream was my pick-me-up, especially during this very hot temperatures, Covid-19 month in southwest USA. With time on my hands, I wondered how much I did not know about ice cream, and as a consumer I wanted to support local businesses. This was my time to read about ice cream and buy it from various locations! Great idea and delicious products to eat; such a special treat given I most often do not have ice cream!
Plenty of info on the history of ice cream is available on the web, but suffice it to say, early ice cream from China and Roman Empire days is nothing like what we have now, thank goodness. Interestingly, it was Marco Polo’s travel in China that brought ice-cream to Italy. One can read more about sundaes, ice cream cones, and Jefferson bringing ice cream recipes and a freezer from France, but my bottomline was to forget all of that and simply enjoy ice cream during the month.
And so I did! I started with store-bought Klondike bar from a supermarket freezer. Klondike bars are my go-to ice cream since they are on sale every so often and store nicely in my freezer. Basic vanilla and chocolate outside layer, simply a treat. Klondike does have many other flavors to choose, so check them out.
Next stop, especially since I cannot be in Italy, was to my favorite gelato place, Frost. Gelato has more milk (less cream, so less fat) and is denser (more flavor) compared to ice cream. My favorite gelato is stracciatella, closest I can get to chocolate chip, in a small cup. I could have 2 flavors in the cup and chocolate espresso would have been another great choice. Frost serves many flavors and medium and large cups are available for gelato. They also have milkshakes.
A few days later it was hotter-than-hell here in Arizona, so ice cream was on that night’s dessert menu. I stopped at our local Cold Stone Creamery, ordered 2 “Like It” size cups … one French vanilla with walnuts, tempted to add chocolate chips but chose healthy nuts, and the other butter pecan with pecans. Rushed them from store to cooler in my car, then drove 5 miles to put them in the home freezer. The dessert was delicious!
By the way, top 3 popular flavors in 2015: vanilla, chocolate and butter pecan … who knew? But in 2020, butter pecan is #6, with cookies and cream #3, mint chocolate chip #4 and chocolate chip cookie dough #5. My absolute favorite is chocolate chip … and only with dark chocolate chips!
Time to check out a new ice cream place for me, Screamery. What a great name! Ice cream is made from scratch here with whole and natural ingredients mixed with premium milk and cream. I can report the fudge chocolate chunks are absolutely huge and delicious! Sure this establishment has the usual flavors of vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and butter pecan with fresh picked or roasted whatever, but I ate “Funky Monkey”. This one is banana-based with homemade fudge and fresh walnuts, yum! I liked the fact they list which flavor “contains gluten”. On their menu I saw a future temptation: a “Flight of Ice Cream”. Maybe when a few friends and I can share it someday. They do have milkshakes, etc.
Just down the road from home I have been passing the Dairy Queen, so I decide to support this local business too and discover what they sell. All kinds of interesting things, no wonder there is a line at this drive thru! I ordered vanilla with walnuts and another of vanilla with walnuts and chocolate fudge all swirled in; known as a “Blizzard”.
Final treat for us during July was a purchase at Baskin Robbins. Normally there is a special 31st of the month discount on a single scoop to be $1.31, but during the pandemic no lower price per scoop. Chocolate chip single scoop and butter pecan single scoop for cups bought at this drive thru establishment. Again, masked and gloved employees, thank you.
I enjoyed plenty of ice cream while growing up. It was one of my favorite desserts. I still enjoy ice cream and was happy to participate in National Ice Cream month. (Still have Klondike bars in the freezer!)