The death of ice cream

It happens every year, like the molting of the leaves in winter. As soon as that twinge of Autumn hits the air, it begins. The emptying of the ice cream freezers.

Greece has two major seasons when it comes to processed sweets, the ice cream season and the chocolate season. In March it begins, an ice cream freezer springs to life, a small trickle of ice cream flavors start to seep in. By June you can get everything that is available, and all grocery stores keep a steady flow through the end of August. Sometime during September, you realize the stock is depleting, rather quickly, without being replaced. You grab on to the last containers of your favorite flavors. Then you get desperate and buy brands and flavors you don't normally like. Then before you know it, the freezers are moved out of the way for other products, or stocked with new, non ice cream products. It is quite tragic.

Yet, something else begins to happen. New chocolates start appearing. The good chocolates, like Ritter and Cadbury. No more crappy summer stock. But this is the thing, I'm not a huge fan of chocolates. Oh, quit tsking. I like chocolate. I really do. But the standard for chocolate here is what is called "praline" filled (no, not the New Orleans pralines) which is basically a hazelnutty chocolate cream. You can get strawberry cream, nuts, the basics. Ritter even makes a marzipan chocolate bar which I really like. But no mint chocolate (same with ice cream). No plain chocolate cream. No nougat. No peanut butter (my kingdom for Reese's!). Everything is that goddamned praline, which isn't bad, but yeeshk, I need a little variety. And I love mint chocolate. Its a travesty.

Now, I guess I understand the reason for this. People probably would never buy that much ice cream in the fall or winter months. It is too hot for chocolates in the summer. Most supermarkets are relatively small, especially in the city, and they need the room for stock that moves. Most stores seem to completely wipe out their ice cream supply for the winter. Not even basic vanilla or chocolate, a small quanity, in the back of the frozen section. Nada. Zip. Zilch. And while I myself am not generally inclined to have ice cream when it is cold out, I do like it when I make warm apple pie or a nice fruit cobbler. You gotta have the a la mode!

I suppose that is one thing that has really taken some getting used to. I am used the American supermarket model. A huge store stocked with every type of thing whenever you want it. Ok, so you can't buy Christmas lights or ornaments in the summer, but you get my drift. There was literally a whole WALL of ice cream products at the Green Hills Kroger. Year round. Every type of ice cream you could possibly want. There was a whole aisle of chocolates at the same store. Year round. Every type of chocolate candy you could possibly want. This type of reality is good and bad I suppose. You can actually become sick of ice cream, or of your favorite chocolate. Here, it is a treat when ice cream season rolls around. You hear squeals of delight when the favorite candy is in stock.

Somewhere in my head, I can hear the sullen tolling of the three bells. Ice cream is dead. At least until the spring.