Get Ready for Apple Caramel Crumb
September 2, 2014Summer is over (at least unofficially). Of course, this has many people feeling bummed. Don’t be one of them. There are still plenty of things to look forward to with fall on the horizon. How about ice cream? Think ice cream is just a summer treat? Think again. Ice cream is a treat to be enjoyed all year round. Praline’s loves serving up delicious seasonal flavors so that ice cream lovers can enjoys certain ice creams and flavors during certain times of the year. One of the most popular seasonal flavors is just now returning to Praline’s locations. We are talking about Apple Caramel Crumb. Just the name itself sounds good. Those who’ve had the blessing of tasting this creamy, cold concoction already know of its deliciousness. It is one of the true favorites on the Praline’s ice cream menu. Folks often ask if it’s available and when it will…
Read MoreIce Cream That Tastes Like Fall
August 25, 2014We don’t mean to disappoint you, but summer is almost over. Next week is Labor Day and that’s about it for summer fun. The good news is, fall follows summer and fall can be pretty awesome. There’s football and apple picking and Halloween, hay rides and homecoming parades, apple picking and apple pies, turning leaves and foliage tours. There’s a lot of fun to be had during fall. There’s also ice cream. There’s always ice cream. Ice cream is America’s favorite summer sweet treat but there is still plenty to enjoy about ice cream once fall rolls around. Praline’s takes great pride is developing delicious seasonal ice cream flavors. It’s another pleasant way to enjoy ice cream all year long. Perhaps no fruit is associated with the season of fall more than the apple (yeah, you could make a case for the pumpkin, but we’re giving the slight edge to…
Read MoreWant Some Cheese with that Ice Cream?
August 18, 2014It seems like every day someone is trying out a new flavor of ice cream. Creators of ice cream are also trying out new and inventive things. That doesn’t mean all of these culinary ideas will work. Some of these crazy concoctions sound…a little crazy. Like blue cheese ice cream. Yup, that’s a thing. Some ice cream shops are serving up ice cream that contain actual chunks of blue cheese. In fact, one ice cream spot in the UK is offering blue cheese and cream cracker ice cream. They also offer pint of ale and pack of Twigglets ice cream (must be a British thing). This sounds like you would need to REALLY like blue cheese to enjoy this ice cream, but we try and keep an open mind when it comes to frosty culinary creations. Cheese as a dessert item is not completely unheard of. Apparently the French are…
Read MoreThe Ice Cream That Changes Color
August 11, 2014Ice cream is all about flavor. It also comes in different colors, almost all of which are based on flavors. In fact, many of us can spot our favorite ice cream flavor just by seeing the color. Yet what would you do if the ice cream changed colors? One Spanish scientist has created color-changing ice cream. The physician and electrical engineer calls his ice cream Xamaleon. The ice cream starts out as blue, an unusual color for ice cream. It is then sprayed with something the scientist calls a “love elixir”. This mystery substance will help the ice cream change color. After the ice cream is sprayed, it turns a deep purple. This takes about ten to fifteen seconds. The ice cream further changes color as it is licked. The flavor of the color-changing ice cream is referred to as Tutti Frutti. It’s made with several natural ingredients including strawberries,…
Read More3D Printer Ice Cream
August 5, 2014Ice cream comes in many forms. There are ice cream cones. Ice cream in a dish. Ice cream sundaes. Ice cream cakes and ice cream pies. Ice cream in milkshakes and ice cream in root beer floats. But printed ice cream? Yup. Kind of. It’s 3D printed ice cream. Three students at MIT have created a 3D printing machine…for ice cream. Apparently the three hacked a 3D printer and hooked it up to an ice cream maker to create a device that can deliver soft-serve ice cream in 3D shapes. The three students say they designed the 3D ice cream printer to get kids excited about technology. They insist this was a way to get kids to ask questions about science and technology. It’s likely to get kids just as excited about ice cream that comes in a variety of shapes. This experiment also seems like it was a fun…
Read MoreDo We Still Love Our Ice Cream?
July 28, 2014It’s summer (July to be exact) and that means we are in the prime of ice cream season. Ice cream goes down great any time of the year, but summer is the time when people make a point to grab a frosty treat. Why do you think Ronald Reagan chose July as the month to designate “National Ice Cream Month”? Say what you will, the nation’s 40th president had impeccable timing. July is a perfect month to celebrate ice cream…with ice cream. A double scoop of Beez Neez should be as much a summer tradition as fireworks and cookouts on the Fourth of July. But are we eating less ice cream? I know what you are thinking: “That sounds like crazy talk.” According to a recent report, people in the U.S. spent $13.7 billion on ice cream last year and figure doesn't include restaurant sales. However, the same article points…
Read MoreThose National Ice Cream Day Deals
July 21, 2014This past Sunday was National Ice Cream Day. What’s that, you say? You are not familiar with National Ice Cream Day? That’s too bad because you missed out on some sweet deals. First, let’s refresh the history of National Ice Cream Day. President Ronald Reagan did more than fire air traffic controllers and inspire the term “Reaganomics”. The man also clearly loved his ice cream. Back in 1984, President Reagan declared the third Sunday of every July to be designated National Ice Cream Day. The president also took it one step further. He names the entire month of July national ice cream month. So, did you catch any great ice cream deals on July 20th? If not here’s some of what you missed: • Carvel celebrated National Ice Cream Day with 80-cent soft serve cups and cones. • Ben & Jerry’s sent an ice cream truck around the country, looking…
Read MoreScooper Sunday
July 14, 2014Summer means a lot of things to a lot of people but it’s hard to find many people who disagree with the idea that baseball and ice cream are summer staples. That’s just one reason Praline’s is proud to be a part of Scooper Sunday at the New Britain Rock Cats minor league baseball game Sunday July 27th. Praline’s is one of several local ice cream makers to take part in the tasting event. And make no mistake, ice cream tasting is the name of this game. Scooper Sunday allows people to pay a fixed prices and sample of the different ice creams on hand. Ice cream tasters are asked to vote for their favorite flavor. When it comes to this ice cream taste testing contest, Praline’s is looking for a third-straight win. For the past two years, Praline’s Beez Neez has finished tops in the test-testing. And tasters can…
Read MoreNational Ice Cream Month
July 7, 2014If you love ice cream (and we all love ice cream), then you are really going to love July. You see, July is National Ice Cream Month. And this year is the 30th anniversary of July being National Ice Cream Month. You might remember Ronald Reagan as a man who talked tough to the Soviets and enjoyed a good jellybean. But our nation’s 40th president also had a patriotic appreciation of ice cream. That’s why, in 1984, President Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month. The President recognized ice cream as a favorite American treat and called it a fun and nutritious food that was enjoyed by about 90 percent of the nation’s population. It doesn’t stop with National Ice Cream Month. The third Sunday of the month is designated as National Ice Cream Day. This gives you a few weeks’ notice to plan and celebrate a day to…
Read MoreThe History of Caramel
June 30, 2014If you haven’t been to Praline’s yet this summer, you’ve denied yourself the chance to try Praline’s delicious salty caramel ice cream. This flavor combination is a summertime “cannonball into the pool” burst of flavor. There’s sweetness, then saltiness, then sweetness, then more saltiness. We love it so much. But what are its origins? And how did it end up in our ice cream (among other places)? Like many of our past excursions into sweet treat history, this one has some mystery. Caramel and caramel candies have been with us for centuries, but their exact origins are a bit murky. Some say the Arabs first discovered caramel around 1000 A.D. This was a crunchy type of caramel, created by crystallizing sugar in boiling water. So when did caramel arrive in our fair land? It’s believed that American settlers were making hard candies in kettles. This was around 1650. So how…
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