I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM

Watermelon ice, although not technically an ice cream, is still popular among the kids.

Sarah Fluegge poured butterscotch over a sundae for a customer at Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors.

No one gets the scoop more than Americans. This nation practically screams for ice cream.

The International Ice Cream Association says:

- Nearly one third of American households consume at least a gallon of ice cream and related frozen desserts every two weeks.

- About 25 percent of the ice cream consumed comes in the form of bulk servings at retail shops, restaurants, universities and other places. Nearly 25 percent is in the form of novelty items such as ice cream sandwiches and fudge bars. The remaining 50 percent is packaged ice cream.

- The U.S. leads the world in annual production of ice cream and related frozen desserts with more than 1.5 billion gallons. China ranks second with 490 million gallons.

- Total retail sales of ice cream and related frozen desserts reached a record high of $10.8 billion in 1996. Supermarket sales accounted for $3.1 billion of that total.

- Based on supermarket sales, vanilla is the most popular flavor, followed by chocolate.

- Portland, Ore., ranks first in supermarket sales of ice cream with 2.87 gallons per capita. St. Louis is second at 2.64 gallons per capita.

The St. Louis area long has been associated with ice cream. The ice cream cone was introduced to the public at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.

Stephen Sullivan of Sullivan, Mo., was one of the first known independent operators in the ice cream cone business.

In 1906, he served ice cream cones or cornucopias as they were called at the Modern Woodmen of America Frisco Log Rolling in his hometown.

Nothing quite compares to good ice cream, whether in a cone or in a cup.

"Enough is made every year for each of us to eat 24 quarts," said Judy Lueders, University Extension nutrition specialist.

"I knew a family who ate it almost every lunch and evening meal year round. There are some people where it is a staple, where it is almost always in their freezer," said Lueders.

Ice cream has some nutritional qualities. It does have some vitamins and minerals.

"The down side is real ice cream is really high in fat, and it certainly has some sugar in it," she said.

Ice cream has about 130 calories in every half-cup serving.

"Compared to drinking a glass of milk, you get a fourth of the nutrients and four times the calories," said Lueders.

Still, compared to a lot of desserts, ice cream isn't as high in calories as most cakes or pies, she said.

Southeast Missouri State University speech professor Dr. Tom Harte loves good ice cream. He grew up next to an ice cream plant in St. Louis.

Harte, who writes a food column for the Southeast Missourian, prefers the expensive ice creams.

"There is just no substitute for lots of butter fats," he said. "The really good ice creams don't have a lot of air in them."

Harte believes the best ice cream is made in Italy, although he also is fond of a number of ice cream brands sold in this country, including Ben and Jerry's.

Harte recently weighed various brands of ice cream. He found the expensive brands weighed almost twice as much as the less-expensive brands.

"Really good ice creams don't have a lot of air in them," he said.

Harte doesn't believe in skimping on flavoring either. He once burned out a motor on an ice cream maker by adding too many chocolate chunks to the mixture.

Premium ice creams don't need to be drowned in chocolate sauce, he said. "A really good ice cream is so good you don't need to put anything on it," said Harte.

Nina Schmidt has scooped plenty of varieties of ice cream over the 20 years that she and her husband have operated the Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors in Cape Girardeau.

The ice cream parlor is part of a national chain. "We have 16 permanent flavors and the rest are rotating flavors," she said.

Schmidt said the most popular flavors include pralines and cream and chocolate chip.

Children like chocolate chip cookie dough and pink bubble gum-flavored ice cream.

Schmidt said she never gets tired of scooping out ice cream.

Like her customers, she loves eating the cold dessert. Said Schmidt, "It brings out the kid in you."