Thank goodness we are in Off Topic. A little banal chitchat is a welcome diversion from other forums. I work remotely, and I just realized my company takes a half day today, so yippee.
My pet peeve. My growing-up quality ice cream of choice was Breyer’s. It boasted all natural ingredients - milk, cream, sugar, actual vanilla bean , flavorings. Premium fat level. And it used to come in half-gallon containers! These days, though, Breyer’s has proliferated a range of what look like yummy flavors. But no - all but the original vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, Neapolitan and possibly another, are all FROZEN DAIRY DESSERTS. Right there in the ice cream freezer, looking exactly the same, but smaller containers and the Frozen Dairy Dessert right where it used to say Premium Ice Cream.
Heresy. When I want ice cream, I want full-on dairy richness and quality flavors, not some insipid goop that can’t even qualify as ice cream because of lack of enough dairy.
Generations of our USNA sponsor mids, with whom we generously have shared quality ice cream over the years, learned to read labels very carefully. As upper class, they usually call on the way over to ask if the ice cream locker needs topping up. Woe betide the thoughtful mid who shows up with what looks like ice cream, but it’s not. It’s a standing joke among generations of mids about the openly admitted ice cream snobbery they learn here, along with great memories of lively Saturday night dinners. Plebe teams took individual orders and scooped and accessorized and delivered while upper class mids and I cleared table, stowed leftovers, loaded dishwasher and made the kitchen shipshape. There are always 5-7 flavors of ice cream, gelato and Italian sorbetto for the dairy-free available in the freezer, and a special shelf with jimmies, sprinkles, etc. Alumni return and know where to look.
The other inside joke is the plebes learning the serving size lingo. There is “girl bowl/PRT this week/athlete in season bowl,” “regular bowl,” “guy bowl,” and the infamous “Philadelphia bowl,” named for my Philly native DH who grew up in a gargantuan ice cream serving culture.
I manage my ice cream intake very carefully, and if I’m going to indulge in some artery-coating, it had better be the good stuff. I just had my annual physical, and all stats are good to go for well-managed ice cream consumption.
We are currently getting gelato and sorbetto from Trader Joe’s, and Mayfield premium ice cream from the Commissary, and the odd Ben and Jerry or Haagen Dazs here and there. Turkey Hill is another standard favorite, reminds me of what Breyer’s used to be. Halo Top - I just can’t get past the after-taste of stevia, the extra milk protein and prebiotic fiber and other stuff.
Your ice cream insights are welcomed.
Rant concluded. Thank you.