Ice Milk

Call it a Blend-In. Call it a Shiver. Call it a Blizzard or a Mix-In or a Kaleidoscope. No matter what you call it, the rage in the area's ice cream and frozen yogurt shops is to blend chunks of fruit, chocolate bars and a myriad of other ingredients into the frozen treats. Whether sold by the cup or the cone, the hands-down favorites, according to those who scoop and blend, are the chocolate-bar blends. Apparently, Dairy Queen was the first on the scene in this area to offer the different concoctions.

KEEBLER MUNCH'EMS. Original, cheddar, and sour cream and onion. $2.09 to $2.19 per 7-ounce box. Bonnie: Keebler is promoting its new Munch'ems, a snackable cracker, as an alternative to chips. The idea has merit. Both potato and corn chips are fried and therefore are quite high in fat. (They have 8 to 13 grams of fat per ounce, providing about 50 to 60 percent of the calories.) Munch'ems are baked, resulting in a lower fat, but certainly not low-fat, product. (An ounce has 6 grams of fat, providing 38 percent of the calories.

BRAEBURN APPLE. 99 cents to $1.29 per pound. BONNIE: It is probably too much to think that eating an apple a day will keep the doctor away. However, apples are a good source of fiber and complex carbohydrates while being fairly low in calories (80). If you like Granny Smith apples, you'll also like this new variety of apple from New Zealand called the Braeburn. Like the Granny Smith, the Braeburn is a crisp, firm fruit with a somewhat tart flavor. Unlike the bright green Granny Smith, the Braeburn is partially red with a green-gold base.

It was like any other day at the race track for Bern Sharfman. He brought his white plastic bag containing the Racing Form, binoculars and a dangerous weapon. Actually, several dangerous weapons. Sharfman didn't know at the time, of course, that his banana, apple and pear were potentially life threatening. But security forces at Penn National race track near Harrisburg were on their toes. Lose the fruit or stay out, they said. Sharfman parted with his pear and the rest of the contraband.

In a season when the fragrance of high-calorie baked goods beckons from every open door, it's clever for the calorie-careful to have a few quick and easy alternatives on hand. It's easier to "just say no" to fattening goodies away from home when you know you can treat yourself later to a sweet that's sugar free. And it's good to be able to offer guests an alternative to calorie-heavy desserts. These seasonal treats should be simple to make - not major productions. Canned juice-packed fruit can be the inspiration for calorie-light grand finales.

When Marvin Norris was a little boy, his parents took him to Atlantic City at the end of the summer every year. By late August, his taste buds had already been cooled by various North Philadelphia delicacies. "Why, we had ice cream and Italian water ice and frozen candy bars and even frozen bananas and frozen peaches," said Norris, 64, who now lives in West Philadelphia. "But I tell you, I couldn't wait to get down to the shore to have the biggest treat of all - frozen custard.

What's in a name? A lot if that name happens to include "low-fat" or "nonfat. " Just consider the effect that taking "ice milk" and calling it "low-fat ice cream" is having on the ice cream industry. A wave of new and reformulated products has sent ice cream fans nationwide into a tasting tizzy trying to find a low-fat or nonfat version of ice cream that they could love. Or even enjoy. Consider just one company - Breyers. Along with the real thing (12 grams of fat per serving)

Not long after the Civil War, William A. Breyer began hawking homemade ice cream on the streets of North Philadelphia, heralding the arrival of his horse-drawn wagon with a dinner bell. Now, 127 years later, Kraft General Foods Inc. is heralding Breyers as the oldest and best-selling ice cream in America with an announcement today naming its frozen desserts division Breyers Co. Inc. This has been a good summer for Breyers, whose main plant is in West Philadelphia. America's longest-running ice cream is playing to huge audiences in a summer hit movie with another American tradition, Hollywood tough guy Clint Eastwood.

Talk about mixed messages. While sales of reduced-fat and nonfat products climb steadily, Americans not only still like their frozen desserts, but increasingly are scooping up premium and super-premium ice creams by the gallon. And they're not bashful about piling on candies and other sweet toppings that can add calories and fats to an initially low-fat or nonfat frozen dessert. On average, Americans each downed about six gallons of ice cream and similar frozen desserts last year, based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and estimates from the International Ice Cream Association.

HAAGEN-DAZS FROZEN YOGURT. Five flavors. $2.59 per pint. BONNIE: I should have known that Haagen-Dazs frozen yogurt would be made without the vegetable gum stabilizers found in other brands. The gums are considered safe; they're just not naturally found in frozen desserts and never in Haagen-Dazs ice creams. Don't assume that frozen yogurt is that much better for you than ice cream, however. The main advantage of yogurt over ice cream is that it's usually made from skim milk instead of cream and therefore has less total fat and less saturated fat. For instance, Haagen-Dazs ice cream gets about 60 percent of its calories from fat, while its vanilla and chocolate yogurts have as little as 21 percent.

What's in a name? A lot if that name happens to include "low-fat" or "nonfat. " Just consider the effect that taking "ice milk" and calling it "low-fat ice cream" is having on the ice cream industry. A wave of new and reformulated products has sent ice cream fans nationwide into a tasting tizzy trying to find a low-fat or nonfat version of ice cream that they could love. Or even enjoy. Consider just one company - Breyers. Along with the real thing (12 grams of fat per serving)

Talk about mixed messages. While sales of reduced-fat and nonfat products climb steadily, Americans not only still like their frozen desserts, but increasingly are scooping up premium and super-premium ice creams by the gallon. And they're not bashful about piling on candies and other sweet toppings that can add calories and fats to an initially low-fat or nonfat frozen dessert. On average, Americans each downed about six gallons of ice cream and similar frozen desserts last year, based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and estimates from the International Ice Cream Association.

Breyers ice cream - an American tradition older than major league baseball - is being sold to a British-Dutch conglomerate. Kraft General Foods Inc. announced yesterday it planned to sell its ice cream business, including the prominent Breyers brand founded in Philadelphia, to Unilever United States Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The sale is subject to approval by regulators and the companies' boards of directors. Breyers is the number-one-selling ice cream in American supermarkets.

Not long after the Civil War, William A. Breyer began hawking homemade ice cream on the streets of North Philadelphia, heralding the arrival of his horse-drawn wagon with a dinner bell. Now, 127 years later, Kraft General Foods Inc. is heralding Breyers as the oldest and best-selling ice cream in America with an announcement today naming its frozen desserts division Breyers Co. Inc. This has been a good summer for Breyers, whose main plant is in West Philadelphia. America's longest-running ice cream is playing to huge audiences in a summer hit movie with another American tradition, Hollywood tough guy Clint Eastwood.

KEEBLER MUNCH'EMS. Original, cheddar, and sour cream and onion. $2.09 to $2.19 per 7-ounce box. Bonnie: Keebler is promoting its new Munch'ems, a snackable cracker, as an alternative to chips. The idea has merit. Both potato and corn chips are fried and therefore are quite high in fat. (They have 8 to 13 grams of fat per ounce, providing about 50 to 60 percent of the calories.) Munch'ems are baked, resulting in a lower fat, but certainly not low-fat, product. (An ounce has 6 grams of fat, providing 38 percent of the calories.

From childhood, we have been conditioned to think that butter goes on bread, that dessert is sugary, and that anything will taste better with a little salt on it. And for such conditioning we have paid a heavy toll in heart disease, obesity and circulatory problems. Perhaps it's time to recondition ourselves - not just by finding substitutes for sugar, salt, saturated fat and cholesterol, but by getting away from the notion of substitution altogether. There is no perfect substitute for butter or sugar or ice cream or eggs.

HAAGEN-DAZS FROZEN YOGURT. Five flavors. $2.59 per pint. BONNIE: I should have known that Haagen-Dazs frozen yogurt would be made without the vegetable gum stabilizers found in other brands. The gums are considered safe; they're just not naturally found in frozen desserts and never in Haagen-Dazs ice creams. Don't assume that frozen yogurt is that much better for you than ice cream, however. The main advantage of yogurt over ice cream is that it's usually made from skim milk instead of cream and therefore has less total fat and less saturated fat. For instance, Haagen-Dazs ice cream gets about 60 percent of its calories from fat, while its vanilla and chocolate yogurts have as little as 21 percent.

BRAEBURN APPLE. 99 cents to $1.29 per pound. BONNIE: It is probably too much to think that eating an apple a day will keep the doctor away. However, apples are a good source of fiber and complex carbohydrates while being fairly low in calories (80). If you like Granny Smith apples, you'll also like this new variety of apple from New Zealand called the Braeburn. Like the Granny Smith, the Braeburn is a crisp, firm fruit with a somewhat tart flavor. Unlike the bright green Granny Smith, the Braeburn is partially red with a green-gold base.

It was like any other day at the race track for Bern Sharfman. He brought his white plastic bag containing the Racing Form, binoculars and a dangerous weapon. Actually, several dangerous weapons. Sharfman didn't know at the time, of course, that his banana, apple and pear were potentially life threatening. But security forces at Penn National race track near Harrisburg were on their toes. Lose the fruit or stay out, they said. Sharfman parted with his pear and the rest of the contraband.

Call it a Blend-In. Call it a Shiver. Call it a Blizzard or a Mix-In or a Kaleidoscope. No matter what you call it, the rage in the area's ice cream and frozen yogurt shops is to blend chunks of fruit, chocolate bars and a myriad of other ingredients into the frozen treats. Whether sold by the cup or the cone, the hands-down favorites, according to those who scoop and blend, are the chocolate-bar blends. Apparently, Dairy Queen was the first on the scene in this area to offer the different concoctions.