A day without ice cream

A day without ice cream is, well, there's no other way to put it, a day without ice cream. Because it's not akin to a day without sunshine.

After all, as any season-loving New Englander will tell you, a day without sunshine is just fine. Sometimes it's enjoyable to walk out on one of those gray fall days, when the leaves are mostly off the trees but there may still be a few yellow and orange leaves clinging to the branches. One of those days that makes me want to walk up to the closest door, ring the doorbell, and yell 'trick or treat.'

Then there are those snowbound winter days, when the very best thing in the world to do is sit around in a turtleneck and fleece, drinking tea, munching on cookies, and gazing out the window at the falling snow. Oh, and it's even better if you take the opportunity to reread "The Dead," the most brilliant of James Joyce's brilliant short stories. Don't even think about shoveling, which will probably happen on a sunshine-bright day.

April showers? They may bring rainouts of early season games. Last Patriots' Day at Fenway Park was a complete disaster. Cold. Rainy. As my sister Trish and I sat there, chilled and wet, debating whether to give up and go home and watch the game on TV, I could have gone for one of those days with sunshine. And, hey, April showers do bring May flowers. (As for the game: we gave up halfway through the second long rain delay, which took place during the second inning.)

And no-sun summer days can be fine, too. Sure, if it's a stormy day, you have to make sure you're not hit by lightning or deadheaded by a toppling tree. But there's nothing wrong with an occasional day without sunshine, even in summer.

But a day without ice cream?

I do occasionally slip up and go without a bit of ice cream (or even a sugar-free fudgsicle). But there's almost always ice cream (plus sugar-free fudgsicles) in my freezer. 

If it's available at the store, the ice cream will mostly be Brigham's Mocha Almond. But I haven't found any lately. And I'm not the type to accept no substitutes. So while Brigham Mocha Almond is my go-to, I'm fine with Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia or Gifford's Chocolate Raspberry, or, more recently, something from Tillamook. Yes, I like to stay brand-loyal to New England (Brigham's, B&J, and Gifford's of Maine). But Tillamook is pretty darned good. (So's Talenti, for that matter.) And good ice cream is good ice cream.

And good ice cream - or even mezza-mezz ice cream adjacent products like those sugar-free fudgsicles - is for me an essential part of my day, as it has been through much of my life. 

When my family lived in a flat in my grandmother's triple-decker, our fridge had a very tiny freezer. When we had ice cream, it was usually a small brick of Neapolitan (strips of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry), which - because of the freezer's size and limitations - had to be consumed immediately. During the summer, when my father took the family for a "spin" a couple of evenings a week, we'd stop at the Cherry Bowl, Dairy Queen, Smithfield's, or Verna's for ice cream.

When we moved to our own house and had a fridge with a normal freezer, there was always ice cream - vanilla, chocolate chip, cherry vanilla, fudge swirl or orange or lime sherbet. No one gorged on ice cream, but it was there for the asking. And when we took those summer spins, we always stopped for ice cream.

Fast forward, and I'm still a big fan of ice cream. While I haven't done it in a while, there have been times in my life when dinner has been the better part of a pint of ice cream. (Don't knock it if you haven't tried it. Nothing wrong with downing an occasional pint o' Talenti Pistachio, with or without some Stonewall Kitchen Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce.)

To me, a day without ice cream (or something cold that comes out of my freezer that's not an ice cube or a piece of swordfish) is like a day without sunshine ice cream. Or taking a shower. Or doing some reading. Or getting out for a walk. 

But when it comes to ice cream, I guess I'm something of a floating island. 

Consumption of regular dairy ice cream, which does not include frozen yogurt, sherbet or non- and low-fat ice creams, has been falling for years, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

In 1986, the average American ate 18 pounds of regular ice cream, according to the USDA. By 2021, the most recent year of the data, that was down a third to just 12 pounds per person. (Source: CNN)

If a pint of ice cream weighs roughly one pound, well, I'm above average. I don't keep track, but I probably consume 2-3 pints/pounds a month. (A couple of years ago, when my blood sugar was approaching Type 2 diabetes level, I cut most sugar out of my life, but kept an ice cream allowance in there. I have a very prominent sweet tooth - thanks, Dad! - and didn't want to completely deprive myself. By drastically cutting down on sweets, I lost 25 pounds, which is the good news. The less good news: my blood sugar level didn't drop. But my doctor's fine with it. One good thing about becoming a geezer, having a slightly elevated A1C level is okay.)

So why's ice cream consumption plummeting?

Yes, health is a concern. Other than the psychological benefits, and the cherries in Cherry Garcia, there's not a lot that's all that healthy in ice cream. But if ice cream consumption is down for health reasons, you'd think you'd see an accompanying decline in rates of obesity. But, nah.

Another theory is that there are too many other dessert choices out there, in the freezer and on the cookie shelf. Personally, if it's ice cream vs. something else that's sweet, most of the time I'll take the ice cream option.

Then there's the argument that ice cream consumers have become more discerning in their tastes, opting for more expensive premium ice cream. Just buying less of it.

I have no idea what I pay for a pint of ice cream. I tend to be fairly price insensitive. I'll notice if cherries cost $9.99 a pound. Or if avocados are five bucks a piece. Other than that, while - like everyone else - I sigh when I see how much I've spent on groceries, but that's at the aggregate level. I'm in the fortunate position that I don't have to scrutinize the price of every item I buy. Lucky me!

As for ice cream, I'll be putting a spoon in tonight.

Because a day without ice cream...