7 Tips to Putting Ice Cream in Fiction?

Posted on July 29, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Baskin Robbins

It’s on the list of post ideas . . . I have no real idea why.  You can guess that I made it at night when I was hungry.  The more I think about it, the more I realize that you don’t see much ice cream in fantasy.  I won’t say it never turns up because I’m sure there’s at least one around with it.  Pretty clear why it wouldn’t be common since they don’t have refrigeration to keep it viable.  Still, there’s no reason you can’t add it and I have no idea what else to do here.  Guess this week is favorite foods or something.

  1. Come up with a way to explain how it keeps cold.  I feel that this is the perfect time to introduce minor spells that can get the job done.  All you really need is something to keep the ice cream cold.  Perhaps it stays that way as long as it is in a container and begins to warm up once it’s out.  Doesn’t sound nearly as complicated as other real world foods.
  2. Since this isn’t in our world, you can go wild with the idea.  We’ll get to flavors later, but consider that it might not be a dessert.  What if ice cream was created as a main course in a desert region?  It could be a breakfast since people make it out of milk.  If you go this route then a lot of opportunities appear.  For example, ice cream scoops surrounding a roasted chicken.  I didn’t say they would be good opportunities.
  3. Then again . . . why stick with the basic flavors?  A person could use ice cream as a sauce or topping instead of a dessert.  Maybe gravy or vodka sauce or anything that you make with milk.  Again, we might find it disgusting because that isn’t how we do ice cream on Earth.  In a fantasy world, the evolution and acceptance of this food changes the way it is created and used.  Just try not to make yourself throw up depending on how far off the norm you go.
  4. Consider how common ice cream will be in your world.  While we have it everywhere on Earth, it could be a rare or local delicacy in a fantasy world.  This can create some humor because characters will be amazed by it or even disgusted.  Imagine being a stranger and told that you’re being served the frozen milk of a cow that has been whipped with sugar.  It can be weird because you’d wonder who in the world came up with that idea.  Seriously, you have to wonder how most of the foods we eat ever came into being.
  5. Ice cream headache or brain freeze.  Whatever you call it, the gag never gets old.
  6. How will your world serve the ice cream?  Dishes and cones are what we do here, but that doesn’t have to be the end of it.  Maybe ice cream lollipops or a place that serves it by catapult.  You have to catch it in your mouth or something.  A bag of ice cream is another possibility, which can or cannot include magic.  It’s really all up to your imagination here.
  7. Try really hard NOT to write a blog post about how to put ice cream into fantasy stories.  It’s a weird topic that can reveal one of two things or both.  First, you were really hungry and overheated when thinking up ideas.  Second, you’re really coming to the bottom of the blog post barrel.  Seriously, I have no idea what I was thinking here and just praying it works.

About Charles Yallowitz

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.
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30 Responses to 7 Tips to Putting Ice Cream in Fiction?

  1. The Story Reading Ape says:
    July 29, 2020 at 11:52 am

    I can remember, as a child, getting ice-cream blocks with flat sticks pushed into them, they also came with chocolate and/or sprinkles on them – they were not the same as modern day ice-pops, or choc ices, they were softish ice cream and really yummy 😃.
    I wonder if a fantasy world could have an equivalent of baked alaska?
    Now I want ice-cream…😳

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  2. ShiraDest says:
    July 29, 2020 at 11:55 am

    Lol! I’m sympathising with your ice cream craving, Charles! 🙂 But I’ll have to look up 1835 Baltimore to see if it existed yet, and if so, how expensive ice cream was back then.

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  3. L. Marie says:
    July 29, 2020 at 12:58 pm

    This is a great post!
    I have used ice cream in a book. I usually make up my own flavor names. That’s the fun of it!

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  4. John W. Howell says:
    July 29, 2020 at 2:53 pm

    I think this post worked. Ice cream can work wonders. It can stop fights, start fights, heat people up, cool them down. In a fantasy world, it has unlimited possibilities of interest.

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  5. coldhandboyack says:
    July 29, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    There is a topic I’ve never seen written about before. Maybe gigantic scoops of ice cream serve the same purpose as stocks in the public square. When it melts you’re free to go. Nobody is going to help by eating it because it’s earwig flavored.

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  6. Don Massenzio says:
    July 30, 2020 at 8:02 am

    Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
    Check out this sweet post from the Legends of Windemere blog with 7 Tips to Putting Ice Cream in Fiction?

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  7. DebyFredericks says:
    July 30, 2020 at 12:25 pm

    I could see a witch or wizard using spells to chill a container long enough to make ice cream. The question would be, is this a humiliating menial task that they perform for some wealthy patron, or would they be brilliant inventors who made millions by selling to the masses? Guess it would depend on the setting over all.

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