Candidates for Ice Cream, or Ice Cream for Candidates?

Out of curiousity (or boredom? -- I am waiting for the few trick or treaters who actually walk up the large hill of our dead end street...yes, it will be a long night) I did a Google search for "[candidate name] ice cream" and here are some of my favorites.

Back in the early days of the 2008 race for the White House, slate.com got us excited for a new flavor idea for Ben & Jerry's, Yes, Pecan!...this name was thought up by Aaron Nathan. Or was it? Rumor (or comments below) suggest this was on the Obama site some while before Aaron's submission, but it seems that Aaron was not aware of this when he came up with the idea in the library. Either way, it's a great name and flavor idea, and we wish B&J would make it! Go here for the rest of the story and some other great Obama ice cream names.

Comedy Central's Indecision 2008 called for entries Photoshopping John McCain...the first entry (and undoubtedly our favorite) involved McCain and a big ice cream cone...if only I could be John McCain in that photo.

Not much of note on Sarah Palin and ice cream. Turns out she is a fan of Moosetracks Ice Cream. According to the LA Times, that's what the Republican VP chose when she, John, and Cindy stopped at an ice cream shop in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Big news on the Sarah Palin/Ice Cream front. To make this banal story a little more interesting, the Denver Latest Word Blog notes a little faux pas made by the Denver Post: Apparently, in a story about a crash into a Baskin Robbins, someone mistakenly inserted Sarah Palin's picture instead of the scene of the crash. Nah, still not much more interesting.

Whatdy'a know Joe? In Biden/ice cream news, the basic story is that Joe Biden has been to a lot of ice cream shops. As the SeattlePi puts it "[Biden] is simply out there visiting ice cream parlors and keeping his famous mouth shut except for a lick or two after a couple of somewhat embarrassing gaffes -- a tendency for which he has been notorious throughout his career." (from "The Disappearing Joe Biden", Dan K. Thomasson, Seattlepi.com). Now there's nothing wrong with that, Joe. We've been known to shove ice cream in our mouths too, instead of risking making inappropriate comments.

If you haven't decided on your candidate yet, maybe your favorite ice cream story can help you shed some light!

"Yes, Pecan" image from Slate.com and McCain/ice cream photo from Indecision2008.com.

Scoopalicious Count Down to Election Day

As NPR reminded me every few minutes today, Election Day is in five, count 'em, FIVE days. As with any event, we do have the incredible talent of connecting it to ice cream, so for the next five days and all posts will be connected to the election. And then, for four more years, no more election talk...

OK, to start off the countdown, we want to remind you that if you vote our friend at Ben & Jerry's are giving out free ice cream! All you have to do? Show up at a participating Ben & Jerry's on November 4 between 5 and 8. (Apparently their original plan was to offer free scoops to only the people who voted, but since there seems to be a legal issue in doing so, they changed the event to an "everyone welcome" election day party, which makes it nice too for the under eighteen crowd.) Either way, if you are eighteen or older, I think you should still play by the original rules, show your patriotism, and vote! (This Google map makes it easy to find out where you vote this coming Tuesday, so no "I didn't know where my poling place was" excuses!)

As American as apple pie? We think not. As American as ice cream.

Guest Blog: Beijing Black Sesame

What is the ice cream experience like abroad? We have Japanese Ice Cream and Ice Cream Ireland to tell us something about it, but it's always nice when our traveling friends taste ice cream in different countries and tell of their experiences. Husband was in China last week on business, and he graciously bought ice cream at the Beijing Airport and wrote us a guest posting. If you have international ice cream stories to tell, please do tell -- we'd love to share your story.

I was walking through Beijing International Terminal 2, debating if I had bought enough souvenirs for my awesome, sexy wife when I noticed this:

I didn't have much room in my luggage, but I did have room in my stomach, so I figured I could try bringing back an ice cream post from China. Plus, if I load it up with enough compliments about Bethany and her incredibly smart and talented partner, Tina, they'd post anything.

First off China does a few things right and service is one of them. In the USA, this little stand would have been staffed by one unhappy teenager trying to avoid looking at you. Customers = work, right? This stand had two enthusiastic women scanning the crowds. The guys at the right were just standing around looking at some lights on the wall, my guess is that they were monitoring the delicate ice cream computers. At this point, I've wandered a bit closer so that both women are smiling, waving, and trying to offer me samples. I start scannng the case and they hand me a tasting spoon of coffee ice cream, easily one of my favorite flavors ever that I didn't even see in the case yet. How did they do that? There must be an ancient Chinese art of flavor identification.



The coffee was pretty good, but I could get that anywhere. I kept looking in the case and something else caught my eye in the back corner. Black sesame. Now if any of you know my dazzling wife, you'll know the only type of sesame she ever liked was the street, and even then she would have reminded you how much she doesn't like the seeds. Bethany wasn't here, so I bought the smallest size of black sesame for 25 RMB, thanked them in my nonexistent Chinese and walked away.

Ok, now take some time to look at this picture very closely and you'll see something very unfortunate:



Got it?
That's right.
Seat 44L, which is soon to be one crappy seat in the back corner on a 14-hour flight to Newark.

The ice cream. Now I am notoriously bad at identifying Bethany's archnemesis of seeds, which is probably why I had no idea what this tasted like. It had a great texture, but then this other flavor kicked in and stayed. I think the best part was the blue-grey color, which I hadn't seen since I tried squid ink ice cream with a friend in Hokkaido. That had decidedly more color than taste. This has decidely more taste than color, and I also wasn't too happy with where this taste wanted me to go. It was like my poor little taste buds had just gotten into some sketchy van.

Anyway, the taste let up when I finished the cup, which was good news since it was going to be a while before I'd get on the plane and the food cart would make it all the way back to 44L. The ladies probably knew me better than I did; next time I'll stick with the coffee. All of the other flavors in the case had been pretty common, with some green tea ice cream thrown in to round out the Asian experience. The next time I'm in this terminal I think I'll get one of those other flavors, unless they come up with another color that looks like it shouldn't be ice cream.

Disclaimer: Despite the lovely things said about both Tina and me, we had nothing to do with the content of this posting and, though accurate, we did not edit this piece to make ourselves look better!

Ice Cream on a Bag

It's been a while since I have done a product collection and recently I was thinking about ice cream bags. No, not something you can carry your ice cream in (what a mess!) but something printed with an ice cream motif, allowing you to share with the world how much you LOVE ice cream.

Tina picked up an ab fab ice cram bag as a gift for me a while back at Target. It is one of my favorites for numerous reasons: 1. It's from a dear friend, 2. It has ice cream on it, 3. It is adorable and unique, and 4. The fabulous story that goes with it...

Here's the story...I was at Costco one day and saw this girl carrying this adorable ice cream cone bag. I fell in love and just had to have it. Little problem though. I hate to go up to random strangers. So I didn't. I never knew where she got it. A couple of weeks later, I met Tina for lunch. It was around the time of my birthday and she had gotten me a gift (too sweet, Tina! -- no pun intended...) and the gift included adorable ice cream magnets, a great ice cream recipe book, and THE bag!

Target carries some awfully cute stuff, but if you want to be a little more unique, our friends at Etsy have some adorable handmade ice cream bags.

Katie at Tacky Top Hat (or as I first read it, Tacky To Phat based on her esty name, tackytophat.etsy.com) has adorable handpainted ice cream bags for sale at her store. With this little smiling ice cream cone, what could make one happier? Oh, maybe the rainbow striped lining could be the cherry on top...

Aidan of Bubbledog has a chic Soft Serve Ice Cream Trio Tote Bag Purse. When it comes to ice cream, three is never a crowd...This bag has a great polkadot pattern with three (chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, of course) appliqued ice cream cones. It is fully lined and also has a pocket. Oh, and if you are looking for something to carry inside the bag, try Aidan's Neopolitan Ice Cream Inspired Zippered Pouch, also lined with an adorable polkadot print and a steal at only $12.

Fellow Massachusettsian, sohokitten, has totally won my heart with a screenprinted bunny in an ice cream cone bag. Four things close to my heart: ice cream, bags, screenprinting, and bunnies (ok, well, I like bunnies, but I don't know if they belong on the "close to my heart" list normally, but when added to the above equation, I think they count! This machine washable, 10" x 10.5" bag is perfect for carrying around your necessities...phone, wallet, keys, and your list of local ice cream spots.

Sundae lovers rejoice...cones aside, across the sea in the UK, Megan at Mr.PS screenprinted this wonderful Sweet Sundae screenprint shopper tote bag. I love the simplicity of the red on cream. I just love Megan's design aesthetic...from her checkered background in the photo (the bag sits so nicely against the setting -- and it's also just such an appropriate picnic decor) to her simple but classy logo that is sewn to each bag. I do have to wonder about the name, Mr.PS...maybe we can find more out at her website...nope, but I did find her lovely blog.

I've been wanting to include the work of YeeHaw in the blog for a long time. From ice cream prints to bags, I have always been as much of a fan of their work as they seem to be about ice cream. Their cotton ditty bag featuring an pink soft serve cone and tons of character is one of many of their ice cream items that just all don't fit into this post , so look for an upcoming post featuring YeeHaw in the near future. In the meantime, get ready for the presidential election with YeeHaw's fabulous Presidential Heavy Weight Championship Match poster (also available in "Vee Pee," as YeeHaw puts it!)


Want to give one of these bags as a gift? How about putting it into Happy's Strawberry Ice Cream Gift Bag? Or not since this bag seems to work so well on it's own, it could be a gift in itself. At $8.50, this wonderfully embellished felt bag is quite a steal. Not a fan of the flavor? This bag also comes in pink with a vanilla cone.


This last one isn't quite a bag, but can carry the money so you can buy a bag or any other ice cream treats -- and it is just too good to pass up! reVisionDesign, who awesomely uses recycled items in her projects, has a Recycled Stewarts Wallet for sale at her shop. Talk about unique -- a cool concept and absolutely no two are the same.

I hope you "carry" these ideas with you for the next time you need that perfect bag.

It's all in the Ice Cream Lick

For me, its in a dish with a spoon. I guess its my OCD tendencies that lead me to the dish for fear I might actually get some ice cream on my face or the fear of not being able to outlick the melting. But apparently ice cream really does taste better licked from a cone instead of spooned out of a dish. Well after these findings I may just have to think twice the next time I direct the scooper to put it in a dish.

According to Kay McMath, a sensory scientist and judge for an international Ice Cream Awards, "Flavour in ice cream is released when it's warmed in the mouth to at least body temperature."

"During licking, the tongue is coated with a thin layer of ice cream where it is more quickly warmed, and the flavour is detected by the large surface area of the taste buds present on the tongue."

"By comparison, the spoon provides insulation to keep the ice cream colder when put into the mouth. Once in the mouth the tongue pushes the ice cream to the roof of the mouth to melt before swallowing. A smaller surface area is therefore involved in warming the ice cream to release the flavours," she said.

Mrs McMath said that when licked from a cone ice cream was eaten in smaller amounts therefore the full flavour release occurred with every lick. So the longer the ice cream licking, the greater the taste and enjoyment.

Sorry to get all scientific on you but that is pretty interesting. There are definitely times when I long for a cone but I'm primarily a dish girl!

Oh and in case you are on the lick side and your wrist hurts from twisting that cone to save the drips then you might want one of these genius motorized cones. It's tagline.... "Takes a licking -- keeps ice cream from dripping!"

(Seriously the cone is the size of her head!)