Another article. This one talks about one of the foods I used to enjoy before my gastric bypass surgery. I can't have these like I used to. The experience of an icecream float is still a highlight.
Anybody who knows me, knows that I am a gourmet. That is a person who immensely enjoys food. I watch FoodTV and have a small party in my head when the various cooks on t.v. season the meat and slap it on to a grill making it sing with sizzling delight. It's like the food is saying, "OH YESSSSSSSSSSSSS". It's a beautiful thing. I love how you can take common ingredients and turn them into delicious meals. I even like the science of it all. Learn what an emulsion is and then try and make chocolate ganoche. It's an exciting thing, trust me.
I also like simple foods. One of my favorites is the world famous rootbeer float. A large scoop of Vanilla icecream over a cold frosty mug of rootbeer. It's a rare treat for me, so when I get it, I enjoy it. It's right up there with Dairy Queen's Peanut Buster Parfait, but I digress. Sadly as simple as this wonderful treat is, too many people get it wrong.
Remember this: Root beer FIRST. If you put the icecream in the glass all you'll get is foam so don't do it. Second, don't fill the glass all the way, you can actually get two rootbeer floats out of 1 can. Then add the beautiful round scoop of Vanilla Ice cream.
I love it. I love that when that scoop hits the top it floats and then you see the foam. Slowly gathering around the mound of sweet vanilla ice cream. A flavor that is underrated on it's own now shows one of it's greatest transformation. The scoop seems to magically decend down the glass of root beer. In the dark liquid it seems not to sink to the bottom of the glass, but float gently downwards as if defying any law of gravity. The acquired foam on top nearly spilling over, you take your spoon and go around the top collecting the first taste of sweet airy nectar on your spoon. You bring the collected foam to your lips and taste heaven for a sweet while. The taste of vanilla air explodes in your mouth. You savor every spoonfull of airy delight.
You reach the cold mass of ice cream in the middle of the glass. The magic ingredient has now invaded every part of the root beer making it an gloriously opaque light brown. You take your spoon and eat the ice cream, making sure that you turn the spoon around so the ice cream hits your tongue first and the cold metal spoon does not take away from it's light flavor. You now know that it is not a flavor to be called, "boring", because now, you know that it is far from that. It's heavenly.
The ice cream is now finished. You are near the bottom of the glass, but now you see the cream infused rootbeer and smile. It covers the inside of the glass and collects the clinging foam as you tilt it towards your mouth. You see a small floating white stripe of melted vanilla ice cream as you drink and savor the childhood favorite treat. It's wonderful. Drinking it all, you are left with nothing but a smile and memories of a happy childhood.
