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August 19, 2009

I scream, you scream, we all scream for vintage ice cream!

The weather simmered down a minuscule amount today, but scarcely enough to warrant mentioning. As such, my thoughts have turned to the topic of all manner of ways to help beat the heat if you’d don’t have AC (or improve the situation further even if you do!). From daydreaming about Alpine ski resorts to imaging a picturesque Christmas morning, snow falling as gracefully as fluttering angels, my mind has been on chilly, refreshing ideas this week.

One of the tastiest and most time honoured methods to help you – if only for a few minutes – cool off a bit, is to cozy up with a frozen treat. While prior to the widespread availability of ice, and more recently refrigerators and freezers, frozen desserts where generally only consumed by the fabulously well-to-do (or perhaps those who lived in chilly climates, too), for several decades now nearly everyone has had quick access to frozen desserts.

Just as the availability of such treats has become immensely widespread, so too has the number of ice cream and frozen snacks options sky-rocketed. From a virtually endless array of ice cream flavours (including some that most of us would rather pass up, such as the 101 flavours on this list) to frozen novelty treats on sticks, sherbets to ices, gelatos to dairy-free “ice cream” options for anyone who opts (or needs) to milk products (tons of lovely options exist in the dairy-free and vegan ice cream category, such as recipes and store bought brands made from soy, coconut or almond milk). So many incredible frozen treats exist in fact that we’re almost spoiled for choice by them! (Note, I said "almost"! :D)

Based on the comments Monday’s post about the surface-of-the-sun hot temps generated from readers who are similarly melting, I thought we could all imagine that we're getting together at the local malt shop, gathering in someone’s kitchen or around the backyard swimming pool. From there we’ll partake of some respite from the sizzling temperatures by looking at a scrumptious slew of vintage ice cream images – while lapping away at a cone, bar or treat on a stick of our own!




{Getting stranded on a dessert island with a heaping bowl of coconut fudge ice cream does sounds infinitely more fun than just having a volley ball to pal around with, don’t you think? :D}



{A pair of immensely cute youngsters take a break from painting their white picket fence to enjoy an ice cold Popsicle in the lovely, colourful early 60s ad.}



{Anyone else think this strawberry ice cream loving child could pass for Beaver Cleaver’s cousin? On a different note, I love the rather clever idea of keeping a dish or container of ice cream cold in a bucket of ice – so logical!}



{Peanut butter + chocolate + ice cream = super-duper yummy! These sound fantastic, like a frozen Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.}



{The idea of individual little cubes of ice cream is really quite adorable, I’m surprised they didn’t stick around – yet what I especially like about this 1949 advert is how deeply stylish and beautiful the lady tumbling the ice cream out into the little glass dish is.}



{I just had to post this vintage magazine page, it has a recipe for maple nut, my mom’s favourite flavour of ice cream (and one of mine, too!) – though I’m not sure either one of us has ever had a version such as this, which calls for rennet and corn syrup.}



{Surely I can’t be the only who’s a little intrigued by the idea of creating ice cream with three everyday pantry items: Kool-Aid, sugar and evaporated milk.}



{Blizzards are undeniably fantastic, but I must admit, it’s always been Dairy Queen’s sundaes and ice cream cakes that make me go weak in the knees.}



{I swear I was just thinking of little cups of ice cream like this a couple of weeks ago, and here today I chanced upon this Dixie ad for them. While I can’t recall for certain whether they were Dixie brand or not, individual servings of ice cream like this always make me think of the annual Sports Day at my elementary school because mid-way through the day the teachers always gave each of the students a little ice cream in a clear plastic cup with a flat wooden spoon.}



{Cherry nugget ice cream? Yes please! I think this flavour sounds absolutely delicious, perpetual candied cherry fan that I am ;D}



{This 1958 ad for Big Dip low calorie ice cream looks appealing...perhaps a little too appealing, just how low cal was it? :D}



{This deeply charming ice shop photo is wonderful, yet I can’t help feeling sorry for the poor chap, as it seems the young lady is more into her float than her beau!}



{Adorable mascots and a mouth-wateringly delicious soft serve ice cream and soda hybrid, what more could one ask for from a frozen treat?}



{Ice cream is generally fantastic all on its own, but who doesn’t love adding toping such as these Kraft sauces that were available circa 1959?}



{Frozen custard and chocolate ice cream, I can see why the gal spinning the records looks so excited!}



{Whether homemade or store bought, I have such a fondness for ice cream sandwiches. It’s so neat to know their design hasn’t changed much at all in the past fifty or more years.}



{A delectable assortment of ice cream flavours and tasty desserts to whet your appetite, from a vintage RCW freezer advert.}



{Anything – especially no-bake freezer desserts – that conjures up thoughts of snowmen is A-Ok with me when the mercury starts staring 100° in the face!.}



{During weeks as hot as this one had been, it really does seem like you need a larger-than-life sized 7-Up float to dive head (or perhaps more aptly "mouth") first into!}



{And what summer trip down memory lane would be complete without an image of children gathered round the ice cream man’s truck? Fascinating I found part of this exact same illustration used in another ice cream ad – certainly not an occurrence you chance upon every day in the vintage world!}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}


Few amongst us aren’t keen on a frozen treat of one kind or another. While I don’t eat sweets all that often, if I am going to indulge in an frozen goodie, I especially love sundaes, Creamsicles, soft serve, sorbets, and Italian gelatos. Thinking back to my childhood I was crazy for raspberry, tiger tail, cotton candy, rocky road, and black cherry ice cream as well as my mom’s homemade popsicles. What are your all-time favourite frozen desserts, the ones that make you scream with delight just thinking about them?

22 comments:

  1. God, I need some ice cream now!

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  2. I just love vintage ads like these! I am still in love with Ben and Jerry's Mission to Marzipan! Yum!

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  3. I'm...hungry for ice cream now D:
    I vote for pre-packaged proportioned ice cream squares.

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  4. I used to LOVE ice cream sandwiches as a kid! I like that diced ice cream :-) Like you, I find that one recipe fascinating with the kool aid, sugar and evaporated milk....intriguing ;-)

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  5. Eeeeekk! I'm soooo in love with those vintage ice cream ads! The colors and illustrations make them all the more...YUMMMMMMYYY!!!

    Hugs to you!

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  6. My Mom used to make that PET icecream. Now IF only I could enlarge that recipe. After all these years I could try it ;D

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  7. Hey Jessica,

    I love all the vintage ice cream ads....the diced cream is too cool...I have a photo of a pink vintage ice cream truck..I'm sure it didn't start off pink...LOL It's sitting on a car lot and will probably rust out before the guy will sell it for a decent price..I thought it would make the coolest *trailer of sorts*....yard art..even! :0)

    I'm happy the award gave you a lift! We all need that from time to time.

    Now I need to go see if I have some ice cream in the freezer!!

    ♥ Stephanie ♥

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  8. Mmmm coconut fudge, that sounds delicious! I will confess, I LOVE cotton candy flavoured ice-cream...I don't know why, but I do! Also, last summer we went to an ice cream shop while on holidays and I had the best lactose free ice cream with a pina colada syrup. AMAZING

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  9. Hey Jessica. I love vintage ads. These are no exception. Thanks for posting them. Wow. They've really got me in the mood for some ice cream or other frozen treat. It's been very hot and humid lately so I would love to enjoy one of those. Thanks for stopping by and commenting at my blog. I appreciate it. Take care. Cheers!

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  10. I've been craving ice cream alot lately thanks to that baskin-robbins commercial. I can't get that song out of my head! Here's the whole song on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC_gkcplz_4

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  11. Blue popsicles, loved that flavor. But for more substantial, Good Humor Toasted Almond.

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  12. I really want the strawberry ice-cream in picture three, it looks SO delicious. I loved all the pictures, so very sweet especially the little kids waiting at the ice-cream van.
    xoxo

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  13. Lovely vintage ads! Read one first as "Taste Free" There's a novel concept!!

    Hope you can join all our blogpals, Jessica, today (Thusday) our trip to the cool breezes of Puerto Banus for lunch & shopping - details in my current post!!

    xxLOL LOLA:)

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  14. Me again - just caught yr pawsitively lovely comment about the latest DOGwalk trends! I agree the 40's skirt suit would look divine on you but what about the houndstooth for me? Do you think it might be a tad macho cos I'm rather, well, ladylike...? And as for those waders, well, my paws keep tripping over...!! (But Nora looks even more ridiculous...!)

    xxxLOL LOLA:)
    btw hope you can join us, dear Jessica, in today's blogpal trip to Marbella?!!

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  15. What a great post! Suddenly I miss my grandmother making the old fashion ice cream off the back porch, and hearing it churn with the rocksalt. Those Kraft toppings look killer,and my lunch feels incomplete. Your favorites sound delicious! I love rainbow sherbert, as I have a problem in the lactose department. Black cherry... that sounds good! ;)

    Have a great day! xoxo

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  16. Sounds delightful Jessica! and I love the Vintage Ice Cream ads to go along with the thought! Isn't it amazing that a simple thing like ice cream made people happy in those days!

    XOXO,
    Syd

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  17. I'm there...lazing around the pool with you...with one of those peanut icecreams!

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  18. @ Amanda, I'll gladly second that! :)

    @ Maggi, oohhhh, that sounds positively scrumptious! Never tried it myself, we seem to get a very limited number of B&J flavours compared to what you lovely folks in the States have, but I would love to!

    @ Jennifer Lee, I really want to try them, too! Granted you know it's just regular ice cream in a square shape, but somehow the novelty factor makes it so intriguing.

    @ Kathie, yes it does sound really neat, and were I say 12 years old again, I'd probably be climbing the walls to try this, but my adult brain seems a little put off by the idea of eating (nearly) fluorescent colours ;) Bet it's delicious though! :)

    @ icandy, hi sweetie, love your enthusiasm! Aren't vintage ads the best?

    @ Sher, how cool (pun intended) that you mom used to make PET ice cream! If you click on the that image it will take you to the original Flickr upload and from there you can opt to see a larger version of it with an easy-to-read set of how-to instructions.

    @ Stephanie, that ice cream truck sounds amazing! I love just about any vehicle in pink (it being my favourite colour after all :D). It's a shame to think of such a wonderful automobile rusting away, when indeed there are so many wonderful uses for it (such as your great idea of a turning it into a trailer).

    @ Trains and Sewing Machines, I agree, the coconut chocolate flavour sounds heavenly - like a frozen Bounty bar! Cotton candy ice cream is fantastic, I've always liked it, too!

    @ Keith, thank you for your lovely comment. You should definitely treat yourself to an ice cream this week, you more than deserve it!

    @ Vintage Mama, I've never heard that song before, it's cute - the beat reminds me a lot of the silly "peanut butter jelly time" dancing banana song. Thank you for sharing that link, honey!

    @ Christa Weil, oooohhh, anything that combines almonds and ice cream is a winning bet in my books, that sounds fantastic! (Agreed, blue popsciles and "freezies" were amongst my faves a kid, it was always a thrill to watch your tongue morph into the colour of a blueberry! :D)

    @ Dustjacket Attic, it does look particularly scrumptious, I agree - very homemade and fresh. I really like that illustration too, it almost has a Norman Rockwell-esque quality that you can't help but smile over.

    @ Nora & Lola, ohhhh my, would "taste free" be an apt marketing slogan for an ice cube? You bet your adorable puppy tail, I will be there (if only in spirit) with you. I could use a little retail TLC like you wouldn't believe! ;D (Two comments from you, talk about spoiling me, sweet dears! I think you could definitely pull off houndstooth. I'm petite but am able to wear it well if the pattern is small and the tailoring is classic. I have a black and white houndstooth pencil skirt that I just adore and wear all the time. I'm sure you can pull this classic print off, too!)

    @ Simply Colette, what a beautiful memory. I've never had hand churned ice cream that was created at home, I bet it tasted utterly fantastic! I love the Kraft topping, too. I've always been a huge fan of Sundaes (especially soft serve ones) and would love to have all four of those jars in my cupboard at the ready for when a too-strong-to-ignore sundae craving hit :)

    @ Syd (The Golden Girl of the West), it is wonderful, I agree. Part of what draws me so much to the 40s and 50s is that fact that it seems that more people were appreciative of the simple pleasures in life and what it took to achieve those moments of happiness.

    @ Christy, sounds awesome, sweetie! It's a real scorcher here, we might two (or ten!) of those tasty treats! :D


    Thank you all so much for your fantastic comments! You're each as sweet and cool as all get out! :)

    Oodles of hugs!
    ♥ Jessica

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  19. Marvelous post! These ads are too delightful! My personal opinion has always been that ice cream is the perfect food, pretty much any flavor (except spumoni). I used to eat so much ice cream as a kid I would just leave a spoon in the deep freeze, ready to dip in.. :)

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  20. Hi my dear Georginna, thank you very much for your lovely comment. Ice cream really is one of the finest foods on this green earth of ours, I agree! :) Hee-hee, I like spumoni actually, but if I had to pick one flavour that I'm not to crazy about, I'd say green apple. Somehow that taste just seems to work better in candies than in a frozen dessert.

    Thank you again for this, and all of your, comment(s). I hope you have an absolutely fantastic week, my friend!

    Big hugs,
    ♥ Jessica

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  21. Oh Jessica, these are amazing ads! Wherever did you find them? I love your blog! :)

    I am a retro ad fiend myself, and indulge this fiendishness, and my silliness, over at Kitchen Retro -

    http://kitchenretro.blogspot.com

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  22. my husband runs an ice cream store. Its nice in the summer and while I was pregnant ;)

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