People in Europe also love ice cream. It is delicious and easy and you don't get that feeling of I am a pig who ate half a cake.

I’m not going to read through all of this, so this has probably been said before. A long long time ago, when “old people” were younger, before junk food and eating out and Starbucks were commonplace, ice cream parlors and soda fountains were inexpensive and popular, and something that people of all ages could enjoy. Good clean fun! So maybe the habit stuck. Before take out Chinese food, ordering pizza, and even McDonald’s, there was ice cream as a treat. I remember living on a street that had a Giffords (best ice cream in the area, and the first “restaurant “ I was allowed to go to with friends as a pre-teen) and a High’s dairy store within about 2 blocks. Before that, making ice cream with a hand cranked ice cream freezer was a fun activity.

Having said that, many people are lactose intolerant, and many people—no matter their age — love ice cream.

I think it's sort of a universal pleasure but when you're under 70 years old you try to limit it for health and weight reasons. Once you get up there in age and you know you're going to die, you start to indulge in all the pleasures you held back on before. I think it's sweet to see old people going all in on ice cream. I'm going to!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dad grew up on a farm with no electricity. Ice cream took a lot of work to make, sugar was expensive and there was no way to store it long term.

Even for those who had electricity, during wwII there was sugar rationing and thus older people now were raised by people who considered it a treat and not something that the average person would have every day in their freezer. That’s also why they love the trip to the ice cream parlor. It reminds them of that time.

So for it him it has always been one of those luxury items. He used to make it for my kids with the old spinning thing and ice and salt. I feel the same way about mail delivery on a Sunday and free long distance! Calling my friend in Germany just to chat for an hour - what a decadent thing!

My uncle stores his Amish neighbors’ ice cream in his freezer for them because they don’t use electricity. They buy ice cream even though they can’t keep it in their own homes. They’re not elderly.

That doesn't make sense. For one thing, there are gas freezers and refrigerators, and many Amish use generators. How do they keep other food cold or frozen? Plus ice houses can keep ice through the summer. You can make ice cream any time of the year as long as you have dairy and ice.

My dad's parents had an ice house on their farm. I have a vague memory of the ruins of it near their well from when I was little. My grandparents still referred to the fudge as an ice box.

My son is in his mid-thirties and he eats insane amounts of ice cream (without putting on weight).

Kids love it!

The sense of sweet on your taste buds is the last to dull. The others - bitter, salty, sour, umami - dull earlier. So sweet stuff in general is very popular with the elderly.

Love this thread for bringing back great memories.
I can't have ice cream any more but loved recalling all the good times.

Anonymous wrote:Old people tend not to eat as much so keeping ice cream in the freezer makes sense. There’s always sweet when company or grandkids come over. They can have a small treat when they want without the pressure of needing to eat it all before it goes stale. They tend to not want to waste food

You are way over-analyzing this.

Anonymous wrote:My ILs are obsessed with ice cream and talk about exactly what they’ll get, what add-ons, cones v cup, if they’ll get a sundae beginning at breakfast. If they are on vacation, the discussions continue through lunch - so much talk about “saving calories” and fasting and “burning off the extra calories” so maybe they should walk to get ice cream. Chatter up until they order the ice cream and then a breakdown and critique of what they’ll order next time, how this compares to X ice cream, how many calories they’ve consumed, and how expensive ice cream is, maybe they’ll try frozen custard next, should they drive 20 minutes and find parking or try the frozen custard place within walking distance…they love to say that they are returning home”fat and happy” and wrote that in numerous guest books.

Your ILs sound tedious to be around, and they must really ruin the whole ice cream experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's definitely a generational thing. Fancy pastries weren't as big back then or just didn't exist in small cities.

My inlaws go insane for frozen custard. They specifically like vanilla or plain chocolate and I just can't. It's too boring. They like to talk about the texture.

Frankly I'd rather have a glass or wine or cocktail than a dessert. I like to drink my calories.

Everyone is crapping on OP but this is what I think it is. When older people were growing up ice cream was one sweet that was somewhat readily accessible. They didn’t have a proliferation of pastry shops and bakeries and Dubai chocolate and whatever we have and even people on a farm could make it with some fresh milk and sugar and salt for the machine. It was probably the most common sweet treat to get back in the 40s-50s-60s.

Disagree. Bakeries and pastry shops were all around. Ice cream shops were fewer and farther between. Still are.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not specifically ice cream, it's soft-serve.

I think this is a regional thing.

Soft serve is mid at best.

For me, Ice cream is just a vessel for rainbow sprinkles.

That surprises me. I don’t particularly like ice cream, but although I get the visual appeal of sprinkles, I think they ruin the experience of eating ice cream and other desserts. To me, they don’t have an appealing flavor, they add a very unpleasant texture, and they contain junk ingredients. I’d love for you to help me understand the appeal of sprinkles, apart from their being pretty.

It's the juxtaposition of creamy and crunchy. The taste is bitter and nasty but the weird crunchy texture makes it special. Bonus if you remember being excited by the colors as a 6 year old.

Chocolate chip serves the same purpose and is far more appetizing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not specifically ice cream, it's soft-serve.

I think this is a regional thing.

Soft serve is mid at best.

For me, Ice cream is just a vessel for rainbow sprinkles.

That surprises me. I don’t particularly like ice cream, but although I get the visual appeal of sprinkles, I think they ruin the experience of eating ice cream and other desserts. To me, they don’t have an appealing flavor, they add a very unpleasant texture, and they contain junk ingredients. I’d love for you to help me understand the appeal of sprinkles, apart from their being pretty.

+1

Anonymous wrote:There are not many ice cream stores around. There are McDonald's all over. So because they can't go to a convenient Baskin Robbins, Friendly's, HoJo, Ben & Jerrys, Steves, or local shop they get McD's.

It's also far less expensive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s more generational than age related. Boomers love ice cream! They hate how much ice cream costs so they flock to
McDonald’s and hope the machine isn’t broken, I think Walmarts have some fast food court cheap ice cream.

It’s nostalgic to them and such a treat! Ooh let’s get an ice cream! Blah blah

You sound cuckoo. I grew up in Cincinnati with one of the best US ice cream shops...Graeters. So, it is simply not enjoyable to eat just any brand. I don't know anyone from any economic class, race, gender, generation or religion that considers McDonald's to be ice cream. Like pizza, the DMV is terrible when it comes to ice cream offerings. None are the best. Where in the world are you from that you consider McDonald's and Wal-Mart to have any real ice cream? And, BTW, I am a boomer.

Graeter's - yay! Still, I'm happy to "tolerate" lesser ice creams and even enjoy low-brow McDonald's soft serve. I also appreciate DQ and Ben and Jerry's and Haagen Dazs and the lowly stuff that comes out of my Cuisinart.

One can appreciate the higher quality ice creams but still enjoy ice cream overall. I can also eat chocolates that aren't Ghiardelli.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dad grew up on a farm with no electricity. Ice cream took a lot of work to make, sugar was expensive and there was no way to store it long term.

Even for those who had electricity, during wwII there was sugar rationing and thus older people now were raised by people who considered it a treat and not something that the average person would have every day in their freezer. That’s also why they love the trip to the ice cream parlor. It reminds them of that time.

So for it him it has always been one of those luxury items. He used to make it for my kids with the old spinning thing and ice and salt. I feel the same way about mail delivery on a Sunday and free long distance! Calling my friend in Germany just to chat for an hour - what a decadent thing!

My uncle stores his Amish neighbors’ ice cream in his freezer for them because they don’t use electricity. They buy ice cream even though they can’t keep it in their own homes. They’re not elderly.

Is it really the neighbors' ice cream, or is he just saying it is?