Happy Ice Cream Month!

July 14, 2008

Our nation's first ice cream parlor reportedly opened right here in New York City in 1776 - and about two hundred years later, President Ronald Reagan officially designated the third Sunday of July National Ice Cream Day and the month of July National Ice Cream Month.

Ice cream, is a $4 billion+ industry here in the U.S. , with consumers buying 4.16 billion pints according to The Nielsen Company.

Manufacturers have introduced smaller pack sizes, single-portion forms and more flavor varieties to get us to eat more ice cream.

So what's new on the supermarket shelves?
Here's some of my favorites for Ice Cream Month 2009!

Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Honey Bee Ice Cream - A rich, vanilla ice cream blended with a touch of golden sweet honey. It is a creamy classic with a mouthwatering twist only the honey bee offers. Honey bees in the U.S. are being threatened; more than 25 percent of the Western bee population has disappeared over the last several winters. Häagen-Dazs is raising awareness of the plight and a portion of the proceeds from each pint of Vanilla Honey Bee will fund honey bee research at the University of California, Davis and Pennsylvania State University. Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream is available in 16-ounce pints for a suggested retail price of $4.39.
www.haagen-dazs.com
For more info on honey bees visit www.helpthehoneybees.com.

Turtle Mountain Purely Decadent Ice Cream made with coconut milk is made with organic coconut milk instead of dairy or soy milk. It contains fewer calories, less sugar and less fat than most super-premium ice creams. Sweetened with natural agave syrup, one serving of Vanilla Bean contains 150 calories, 12 grams of sugar and 8 grams of fat. ( By comparison, one serving of other super premium brands' Vanilla on average contains 240 calories, 19 grams of sugar and 16 grams of fat. $4.99 pint.
www.TurtleMountain.com

Graeter's - Since its founding in 1870 by Louis C. Graeter, Graeter's French Pot Ice Cream, has become a tradition in the Queen City. Today the Graeter family still faithfully uses his century old recipes and methods of production. Black Raspberry Chip is their signature flavor and all-time best seller. They hand select triple-washed black raspberries from Oregon's premier grower. About $5 a pint.
www.graeters.com

New Zealand Natural Ice Cream - made with fresh dairy cream from cows that feed on the green unpolluted pastures of the 'land of the long white cloud'. Available in Vanilla, Cookies & Cream, Hokey Pokey (Chunks of crunchy butterscotch folded into New Zealand Natural's creamy honeycomb flavored ice cream), Chocolate Ecstasy (Rich chocolate fudge swirled through New Zealand Natural's famous chocolate ice cream) and Mango Sorbet. $5.00 a pint.
www.nznusa.com

Clemmy's Sugar Free Ice Cream - this is said to be the world's first totally sugar-free, all natural super premium ice cream, made without artificial sweeteners, instead, they use the natural sweetener, Xylitol. The taste and texture of super premium ice creams at 25 percent less calories, less fat and zero sugar per serving. Varieties are Vanilla Bean, Chocolate, Toasted Almond, Coffee and Chocolate Mint Swirl and sells for $5.99/quart.
www.clemmysicecream.com

Laloo's Goat's Milk Ice Cream - is high in protein, elevates immunity, provides a good source of calcium, and is hormone free. And each flavor is loaded with Vitamin A and D. Two newest flavors: Rumplemint - delicate mint chocolate chip with soft curls of dark chocolate (imported from the home of the world's finest chocolate -Zurich) combine with fresh organic garden mint. Capraccino is Laloo's gold medal coffee ice cream made from a popular Italian espresso roast. $6.49/pint.
www.laloos.com

Ben and Bill's Lobster Ice Cream - is a butter-flavored ice cream made from cooked lobsters (from a local lobster pound) where Ben & Bill pick the meat, butter it, and fold it into the ice cream. Pint, $8.95 ~ Quart, $10.95 ~ Half-gallon - $21.90.
www.benandbills.com

PhillySwirl Ice Cream Cupcakes - imagine half cake (either chocolate or white) and half vanilla ice cream topped with icing and sprinkles. Available in a six-pack serving tray shaped like a muffin tin and a party sized 12-pack box (containing two six-packs). Prices range from $4.99 - $5.99/6-pack and $7.99 - $9.99/12-pack box.
www.phillyswirl.com

And to make sure your ice cream is the best tasting it can be – don't forget to be sure your freezer temperature is set between -5°F and 0°F. Always store ice cream in the main part of the freezer. Never store ice cream in the freezer door, where ice cream can be subject to more fluctuating temperatures since the door is repeatedly opened and shut. Never allow ice cream to soften and re-freeze. As ice cream's small ice crystals melt and re-freeze, they can eventually turn into large, unpalatable lumps. Keep the ice cream container lid tightly closed when storing in the freezer, in fact what I always do is to put a covering of heavy duty plastic wrap or aluminum foil around the mouth of the container first – then put the lid over that to insure a tight seal. And don't store ice cream alongside uncovered foods; odors can penetrate ice cream and affect its flavor.

Now enjoy one of America's favorite foods!

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