OOOH, IT'S SO GOOD: JULY IS ICE CREAM MONTH

July was designated National Ice Cream Month more than 10 years ago, but in many homes a freezer without ice cream on any day of the year is a freezer minus an important ingredient.

"People just eat ice cream all year around anymore," observed Virginia Wiedefeld, co-owner of Videos 'N' Creme in Town Plaza. The shop has been successfully serving up delicious delicacies and fun for nearly 10 years.

Ryan Lucy, who also is going on 10 years old, took a few minutes last week during an outing at Jackson City Park to enjoy a dish or two of homemade goodness, savoring each bite of vanilla ice cream with a satisfied grin.

"He's a professional ice cream eater," his mom, Pam Lucy, observed. "He especially likes to doctor his ice cream up," she said, using chocolate syrup or whatever toppings might be handy.

But Ryan isn't the only Lucy family member who enjoys ice cream.

"We're always buying ice cream, sherbet. We like cold stuff," Pam Lucy said, chuckling. "Even in the wintertime, I'm buying popsicles."

The ice cream habits of the Lucys -- Ken, Pam and children Ryan and Arika -- echo those of many and perhaps most families locally and nationwide.

The International Ice Cream Association notes that ice cream and related frozen desserts are consumed by over 98 percent of households in the United States. Nearly one-third of American households consume at least one gallon of ice cream and related products every two weeks.

"Ice cream is a year-round product," confirmed Mike Recker, manager of Shop 'n Save on Silver Springs Road. Ice cream sales naturally increase during the summer, he noted, with ice cream novelty products, in particular, showing increased sales during warm weather.

In 1994, U.S. supermarket sales of ice cream were highest in June, followed by July, August and May.

Rich Lucy, manager of Dairy Queen at the I-55 interchange between the communities of Jackson and Fruitland, sees similar trends at his place of business. "People tend to eat more cold food during the summer," he said. Youngsters' favorite selections are typically the ice cream concoctions using candy bits and the novelty products.

About 25 percent of the ice cream consumed in the United States is bought in retail shops, restaurants, schools and the like.

"The biggest craze right now is chocolate chip cookie dough," Wiedefeld said. "I sell as much of it as butter pecan, and that's always been a big favorite."

Yet the standard flavors, such as the chocolates and vanillas, hold their own, especially among the younger customers, noted Alicia Corvin of Baskin-Robbins in Town Plaza. Cones, too, remain popular, she said.

In recent years, health consciousness has encouraged the production of fat-free treats. Significant customer demand for fat-free and reduced calorie products continues, vendors say.

Fat-free yogurt is a popular item at Videos 'N' Creme. "The flavor of the yogurt is just as good, but you're going to notice a difference in the texture," Wiedefeld explained. "That's because it does not have the fat in it."

Batches of ice cream whipped in the home freezer are often prepared using time-honed recipes passed down through generations.

That's fine, says Janet Kline, nutrition/health education specialist with the University of Missouri Extension Benton office, but she offers a word of caution.

"If people are going to make the kind of ice cream with eggs in it, we would encourage them to cook the eggs and the milk together. That will kill any kind of food-born illness, primarily salmonella, she said.

Eggs, milk and sugar are the ingredients that are typically combined and cooked over low heat. Even if the recipe does not call for heat, Kline explained, cooking the ingredients for a bit will not ruin the taste. Just cook over low heat, stirring all the time, she advised. "When it thickens and coats the spoon, it's had enough heat."

Other safety precautions are the same as with any food preparation. Clean hands and utensils are important. With attention to safety measures, there's no worrying about possible food poisoning. Older persons and young children are especially susceptible to salmonella poisoning, Kline noted.

With summer just hitting it stride, ice cream consuption is sure to be on the rise. And families like the Lucys will be cooling off with various cold treats. With warm weather here and gatherings of family and friends planned, the Lucys recently found themselves needing a new ice cream freezer.

"We weighed the pros and cons, and decided to go ahead and get an electric freezer," Pam Lucy said. "We've already used it twice in one week."

History of ice cream

-- Ice cream's origins reach back to Alexander the Great.

-- King Solomon was fond of iced drinks during harvesting. Nero Claudius Caesar frequently sent teams of runners into the mountains to get snow, which was then flavored with honey, fruits and juices.

-- Marco Polo returned to Italy from the Far East with a recipe that closely resembled what is called sherbet.

-- Ice cream was made available to the general public for the first time at Cafe Procope, the first cafe in Paris, in 1670.

-- The ice cream cone was introduced at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. An ice cream vendor ran out of dishes and was offered a waffle-like middle eastern pastry rolled into a cornucopia shape to use as a substitute.

Ice cream and other frozen desserts

-- Ice cream is a frozen food consisting of a mixture of dairy ingredients and ingredients for sweetening and flavoring. Ice cream must contain at least 10 percent milkfat, before the addition of any bulky ingredients, and must weigh a minimum of 4.5 pounds to the gallon.

-- Frozen custard or French ice cream, must also contain a minimum of 10 percent milkfat, plus at least 1.4 percent egg yolk solids.

-- Sherbets have a milkfat content of between 1 and 2 percent and a slightly higher sweetener content than ice cream. Sherbet is flavored either with fruit or other ingredients.

-- Sorbet and water ices have characteristics similar to sherbets, but contain no dairy ingredients.

-- Quiescently frozen confections are products in the form of individual servings, generally resembling water ices and sherbets.

-- Frozen yogurt is a mixture of dairy ingredients such as milk and nonfat milk which have been cultured, along with ingredients for sweetening and flavoring.