We need to talk about people who chew on ice creams
Adeline loves eating, a lot and often, both at home and out and about. Usually, that goes well, but sometimes it doesn’t. In the series Sunday Roast, she shares her observations. This week: those people who chew on ice creams.
When I bite into a Raketje, one of my friends routinely crawls across the floor in horror because of the sound I make. He looks at me as if I’ve just pulled every single hair from his eyebrows in the most painful way possible. And I just think: relax, man. I’m one of those people who chew on ice, yes.
Rather sticky
I suspect you’re either in the camp that always chews on ice or the camp that licks ice creams to its heart’s content. I’m sorry, but I find sucking, licking and (it really happens, yes) sucking on ice creams uncomfortable and not conducive to my ice-cream enjoyment. Besides getting the same associations as with eating a banana, I find it all rather sticky. Maybe that’s why I’m not crazy about cones with scoops; I always choose the cup—even if it’s made of cardboard—or a soft-serve swirl. With those bad boys, you can’t help but devour them in a sort of half-biting, smacking way. Not my cup of tea.
A little bit soft
I take the perfect ice cream out of the freezer about seven minutes beforehand. Remove the wrapper, carefully place the ice cream on the wrapper, and then wait to the exact minute until it becomes a little soft. That first bite is pure perfection. If you think this process only happens at temperatures above 20 degrees, not really. I eat a water ice every day of the year, even when I’m sitting by the fireplace under a blanket because it’s freezing cold. Yes, you’re speaking to a supreme ice-cream eater.
Bizarre addiction
By the way, did you know that some people are addicted to chewing ice cubes? It even has a name: pagophagia. Now, I have certainly pulverized an ice cube now and then, or taken another crunchy bite of the leftovers from my gin and tonic (you have to make the most of every sip, after all), but otherwise you don’t need to worry. It’s exceptionally bad for your teeth too, because you wear them down while pulverizing the stuff.
Licking or melting technique
Researchers at Unilever have discovered that how you eat an ice cream affects your taste experience. So your preference could well be related to how you consume your ice cream. People who chew mainly taste fruit (!) while people who use a licking or melting technique specifically distinguish the sweetness in an ice cream. And there you have it: my compulsive chewing on ice creams simply has to do with the fact that I’m rather a fruity type. Give me miles of water ice or sorbet and I’m happy, but I’m just as happy to skip the chocolate version.
So next time, don’t get so angry when someone is happily chewing on a piece of ice, because actually, the person in question is just eating fruit. See, that puts my water-ice addiction in a completely different perspective too.
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