As the sun rises higher in the sky and the days become warm, adults and children everywhere look to the ice cream store and the ice cream truck for a cool, refreshing break from the heat. That triple mint chocolate chip ice cream cone may be delightful to the tongue but can be a disaster to skin and clothing as the cold, tasty treat melts in the midday heat. Isn't there a way to eat ice cream without all the mess? Here's how to eat it and look cool and clean while doing it:
Avoid Double and Triple Scoops
Double and triple ice cream scoops are a disaster waiting to happen especially with children. It's hard to control stacks of ice cream when you're fighting the high temperature and midday sun. Resist the urge to get a double or triple scoop and you'll potentially save yourself a cleaning bill.
Choose Your Flavors Wisely
As a generalization, vanilla based flavors melt more slowly than ones containing chocolate. Some of the ingredients added to ice cream to make swirls can also cause ice cream to melt faster. Plus, vanilla ice cream is less likely to cause an obvious, difficult to remove stain on clothing. If your children are begging for ice cream, gently steer them towards vanilla if at all possible.
Learn to Eat an Ice Cream Cone Properly
There's a certain technique to eating an ice cream cone without a mess. The object is to keep the ice cream centered on the cone as much as possible. Lick around the edges while turning the cone to even out the ice cream and form a more stable structure. Be sure to use your tongue to catch any drips that may occur. It's a hard job but someone's got to do it!
Choose Your Container
In the best of situations, you'll get your ice cream in a cup and eat it with a spoon. This method is the least likely to cause a mess. But, sometimes you've just got to have that cone. If you want your ice cream on a cone, choose a cake cone over a sugar one. The cake cone is better constructed to catch those annoying drips.
Choose Where You Eat it
If possible, eat that ice cream while sitting in the cool, air conditioned ice cream store. An ice cream cone can turn into drippy mess fast if taken outside into the hot sun. If you eat your ice cream inside, you'll be able to enjoy the flavors longer without worrying about that chocolate ice cream dripping down the front of your blouse.
Ice cream can be a fun treat for both children and adults. Use these tips to make sure you get more in your mouth than you do on your hands and clothing.
