The Diverse and Delightful World of Ice Cream

The temperatures this time of year in Washington, D.C., are still relatively cool, which makes it difficult to think about sorbet. But I thought this blood orange sorbet at the blog A Spoonful of Sugar looked absolutely fantastic.

It got me thinking — are sorbets, sherbets and ice creams any more delectable when they are served during the warm-weather months? My spouse and I disagree on this point.

Maybe that's because I grew up in Arkansas. Sure, we ate ice cream throughout the year — a scoop or two always adorned apple or pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving — but my memories of ice cream are closely associated with the summer months, which could be sweltering.

At those times of the year, ice cream and sherbets were not just tasty; they were particularly refreshing. Whether it's the climate or not, ice cream seems to become much more enticing to Southerners in the summer.

Still, I respect the fact that New Englanders enjoy their ice cream throughout the year. If they only thought about ice creams and the like during the warm weather months, that would restrict their obsession to roughly three months of the year.

And I know from experience that there are some small dairies and creameries in New England that are serving amazing ice cream.

If I ever make it to Tokyo, I will have to visit "Ice Cream City." Here is a description of it on the blog Cooking With Amy. The "soft creams" sound wonderful.

But if there's a first-on-my-list ice cream I'd like to try making at home, it would be this one — courtesy of the blogger Brooke at Bear Necessities. It's cinnamon-mascarpone ice cream (see the photo above). Now does that look yummy or what?