Creamsicles

Technically it’s still summer and it will be until the autumnal equinox on September 22, so we have a month of days to cool off with ice cream treats. Or we’re supposed to have. Mother Nature must be getting antsy for all things pumpkin spice since our days and nights are unusually cooler right now.

The Holiday Insights calendar says August 14 is Creamsicle Day. That popular ice cream on a stick summons a jumble of special sensory memories I assumed would be similar to others’ recollections.

Curiosity challenged my tastebuds to search for a list of ingredients in this dairy treat. What a shock! Across the net I was seeing that original creamsicles had a hard coating. No way! I’m old enough that surely the creamsicle of my youth IS the original version, right?

Take the variations between fudgesicles and handlebars. Both are ice cream treats on sticks but not comparable at all. Eating a handlebar - to clarify, I define that as plain vanilla ice cream with a chocolate-y outer shell - created a slimy wasteful mess. The shell would crack beyond my bites leading to bits landing on my blouse, of course, or on the sidewalk as a treat for the ants. Chunks of the preferred chocolate never made it to my tongue. Have I ever eaten an entire handlebar? Probably not. Fudgesicles, however, are much easier to enjoy. They’re creamy chocolate through and through with no frustrating shell to contend with. I’ve eaten many with nary a drop of waste.

That’s my experience with creamsicles, too. Swirls of frozen orange sweetness to enjoy, surprisingly, since they are chocolate-less. I’ve never seen a creamsicle with a candy-like coating. Doesn’t mean they’re not a thing, but they've not been part of my culinary experience ever.

Funny the assumptions young brains accept as fact into adulthood. Take flannel. I know it’s a fabric but when shopping for flannel shirts, I look for plaid ones. Have I ever seen a flannel shirt that isn’t?