Big Licks on the Big Screen

What makes ice cream such a popular treat? Well, it’s tasty, cold, customizable...the list goes on and on. Yet during your childhood through your adult years, you also might have seen ice cream featured prominently on the big screen.

Since ice cream is usually best enjoyed with friends and loved ones, it’s fitting that ice cream has had a starring role in some films’ most memorable scenes. Need a little refresher? Here are some famous ice cream scenes from movies through the years:

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Girl, Interrupted (1999)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

City Slickers (1991)

Up (2009) (This one's based on a real ice cream shop in San Francisco!)

Ah, nostalgia and comfort: Two things that always bring ice cream fans and movie buffs together. Did we miss any famous movie scenes that feature ice cream? Post it on to our Facebook page!

Be Mindful (or Mindless), for Ice Cream Zen

Ice cream aficionados are a serious bunch. The treat is known by its fans to be comforting and therapeutic. Not only that, but with so many different flavors to choose from and so many ways to eat it, even the most rabid ice cream fans can find themselves overwhelmed with choice.

Do you prefer eating your ice cream slowly? Do you lick it, or bite into it? Cone, bowl, or straight from the pint? Each of these choices has their own advantages, many of them psychological. In fact, Psychology Today has outlined the different psychological benefits to eating ice cream in different ways:

Mindful: Eat a Cone. According to a study reported in EatingWell Magazine, licking an ice cream is more satisfying than eating it with a spoon. Kay McMath, a food technologist for New Zealand's Massey University is quoted as saying "Flavor in ice cream is released when the fat-which carries the flavor is warmed to at least body temperature." 

Mindless:  Less Licking? Although it may be entertaining, let's put "motorized ice cream cones" into the mindless category. Here is the description of this new device: "Push the button and the ice cream turns while you enjoy one of the world's most popular treats. No more licking around the edges of a drippy cone." The cone turns for you. No work involved whatsoever.

Whether you prefer to eat your ice cream mindfully or mindlessly, Cold Cow’s got what your mind and body crave. To read Psychology Today’s complete guide to ice cream eating methods, click here.

The Scoop on Brain Freeze

Well, summer is definitely here. Don’t let it get to your head, though! Brain freeze is no myth. It’s a bonafide rite of summer. We understand - sometimes, even we can’t wait to get to the bottom of that cup, either!

Is there a cure for brain freeze? Aside from putting down that delicious pint of Cold Cow, you can also use your tongue to apply pressure to the roof of your mouth, or drink a warm or lukewarm beverage to offset the coldness of the ice cream.

Brain freeze is, in fact, real - and scientists are just now learning what causes our heads to ache when we eat cold foods too fast. Researchers at Wake Forest University even conducted a study, with some fascinating results:

Brain freeze, also known as an ice-cream headache, cold-stimulus headache, orsphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, is a kind of short-term headache typically linked to the rapid consumption of ice-cream, ice pops, or very cold drinks. 

Dr. [Jorge] Serrador and team recruited 13 healthy adult volunteers. They were asked to sip ice-cold water through a straw, so that the liquid would hit their upper palate. Blood flow in their brain was monitored using a transcranial Doppler test. 

They found that the sensation of brain freeze appears to be caused by a dramatic and sudden increase in blood flow through the brain's anterior cerebral artery. As soon as the artery constricted, the brain-freeze pain sensation wore off.

So with ample opportunities to visit your local Cold Cow distributor this summer, remember: Take your time! It tastes better that way.

The Ultimate Father’s Day Ice Cream Sundae

With Father’s Day right around the corner (June 16), it’s time to start thinking about fun activities for Dad and the kids. I think you know where we’re going with this: Ultimate Father’s Day Ice Cream Sundaes - made, of course, with his favorite Cold Cow Ice Cream Flavors. (For extra creative flair, prepare a painting station with mugs beforehand, for a sundae that is personalized inside and out!)

Directions (via ParentsConnect.com): 

1. Pour topping selections into small bowls with spoons, and line them up on a table or countertop where kids can reach.
2. Scoop ice cream into individual serving dishes (try warming up the carton in the microwave for 5-10 seconds if it is really hard).
3. Have the kids spoon dad's topping selections over the ice cream, and help them squeeze on the whipped cream. Top it off with a cherry and they've created the best sundae ever for their favorite daddio.

Follow this link for more information.