Pat Ernst Dugan loves to cook, eat, travel and learn about regional foods. She's been doing it for 18 years.

Dugan, of Corning, shares her culinary knowledge with readers in a weekly food column. "Foodly Yours" covers cooking, dining and Finger Lakes foods, from locally grown produce, cooking gadgets and tools to a a new recipe each week, proposed by Dugan to be "quick-fix, limited ingredient and realistic."

If Dad screams for ice cream ...
Consider these sweet-treat gifts for Father's Day

Pat Ernst Dugan
June 16, 2005

Star-Gazette file photo
Looking for a Father's Day gift? How about an ice-cream maker, a trip to a local stand or a pint of his favorite flavor?

All about ice cream

What we scream for: The average American eats 45 pints (5.63 gallons) of ice cream a year, more than any other nationality.

Plain, but delicious: Vanilla is the No. 1 flavor in the United States, accounting for more than one of every four gallons. Chocolate, nut/caramel, Neapolitan and strawberry round out the top five flavors.

A parlor, but sweeter: The first U.S. ice cream parlor opened in 1776 in New York City.

Sunday becomes sundae: Religious criticism in the late 1890s of consuming rich ice cream sodas on Sundays led a soda fountain owner to leave out the carbonated water and invent the ice cream "Sunday." The spelling was later changed to "sundae."

Edict, but not Orwellian: In 1984, President Ronald Reagan declared July as National Ice Cream Month.
Nestle Ice Cream is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the frozen pop this year and is conducting a nationwide search to pick 10 kids, ages 6 to 12, to be a "Frozen Pop Flavorologist" for a day. Winners get an expense-paid trip to Nestle's ice cream factory in Bakersfield, Calif., get behind-the-scenes tours and sample unusual flavors.
To enter: Get details and entry forms at www.kids.icecream.com/flavorologist_promo.html. The entry deadline is July 22.

Despite the very clever advertising campaign "Got Milk?" that features countless Hollywood stars with milk mustaches, I am not enticed to drink milk on a hot day. But there are times when I just have to have ice cream. Father's Day could be just that day!

Puzzled about what to get your special dad? One of the most entertaining new products for Dad's Day or family get-togethers has to be the Play & Freeze Ice Cream Maker by UCO Corp., based in Redmond, Wash., and recently mentioned in Consumer Reports magazine.

Fill this brightly colored ball's metal cylinder with ice cream ingredients on one side and then fill the space around the cylinder with ice and rock salt, and you will be able to make soft-serve ice cream in about 20 minutes by rolling the ball around.

Get the picture? The family has some fun in the back yard or on a picnic by rolling, passing or shaking this seven-pound polycarbonate ball and proudly creates one pint of homemade ice cream after such a fun activity.

The company Web site, www.ucocorp.com, lists detailed, easy-to-follow instructions, complete with ordering information. It sells for $29.95. You can also call them toll-free at 888/297-6062.

In addition to the Basic Vanilla Ice Cream recipe that calls for half and half, plus vanilla and sugar, the company cleverly lists additions along with suggestions for making frozen margaritas and iced coffees.

LL Bean offers the same Ice Cream Ball online at www.llbean.com or by phone at 800/441-5713. It comes in bright colors of blueberry, grape, green apple, raspberry and tangerine, and also sells for $29.

Go have a ball!

Just want to take dad for a drive and buy hand-dipped ice cream? Perhaps an ice cream stand that sells Hershey Ice Cream would tempt. Or how about a square pint from the grocery store?

One of his favorite flavors must be here: banana, black walnut, butter pecan, cherry jubilee, chocolate, chocolate chip, cookie dough, chocolate marshmallow, coconut, coffee, cookies and cream, heavenly hash, Mallo Cup or French vanilla?

Hershey Ice Cream Co., headquartered in Harrisburg, Pa., surprisingly has no relation to Hershey Foods in Hershey, Pa. Hershey Ice Cream began in 1894 by the Hershey Brothers and is operated today by the Holder family, which has been involved with the company since the mid-1920s.

After the Depression, they were the first company in the United States to offer prepackaged pints and today distribute to 20 states. Ever open the ice cream pint container completely and slice the ice cream, instead of scooping?

The company Web site is full of flavors, calorie and ingredient information. All Hershey ice creams have cream as the first ingredient, compared with some other companies who list milk first and then cream. Hershey's Coconut Ice Cream counts 170 calories and 9 grams of fat, one of the lower calorie/fat choices.

Were you ever a fan of that long ago candy, Mallo Cup? Hershey's Mallo Cup Ice Cream flavor describes chocolate ice cream with marshmallow swirls and chocolate-coated coconut pieces. I am ready!

"Surfing for information is fun, but sometimes it's nice to talk to a person when you have a question," states the company's Web site. Give them a toll-free call at 888/240-1905 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays or enjoy their flavored Web site at www.hersheyicecream.com.

United Kingdom researchers backed by a grant from Unilever, owners of U.S. ice cream brands Breyers and Ben & Jerry's, concluded recently after watching the brain activity of a study's eight participants, that eating vanilla ice cream "lights up the brains' pleasure zones" and eating ice cream "actually makes you happy." Anyone else want to sign up for the study when they start with other flavors?

Happy Father's Day!

Pat Ernst Dugan is a private chef, educator, and food/recipe writer. E-mail her at foodlyyours@aol.com or send comments and questions to be forwarded to: Foodly Yours, Star-Gazette, Attn: Features Department, 201 Baldwin St., P.O. Box 285, Elmira, NY 14902.