It was National Ice-Cream day in the US on July 19. In India, we don’t have dedicated day devoted to this dessert, but love it in all forms – popsicle, cone, cup or tub. Plus, at present it is summer.
The Morning Standard talks to Delhi-NCR residents whether they satisfied their ice-cream cravings in this pandemic.
Vinod Kumar Julka, 65, Mayur Vihar
Earlier, I used to have ice-cream twice a day, but restricted the consumption due to my health and the pandemic. Kwality Walls has always been my favourite, but Mother dairy is easily available. During lockdown, we bought ice-cream bricks in bulk, so that we don’t have to go out much. There were rumours to avoid ice-cream in pandemic, but I believe if you are fit and fine you can have it. After all, it makes you feel happy and nostalgic. I even made vanialla ice-cream with mango pudding, and it was a good attempt.
Bhawana Pant, 29, Noida
I love ice-cream but didn’t stock it up before lockdown because we were stocking up on essential items. After the things settled down a bit, I bought a Havmor tub and savoured it for many days. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to go out to have an ice-cream after the lockdown was lifted. But I would love to go some day.
Jagrati Malhotra, 26, Gurugram
I have loved ice cream from the day I was able to tell my mom what I needed. When we were little our family dinners used to end up at the Baskin Robbins parlour. Now, Cream Bell is my go to brand. In the lockdown, ice cream was easily available. I made brownies and jalebis whenever I couldn’t get ice-cream from the market. I got to try different flavours and made desserts using ice cream.
Anil Sharma, 41, Faridabad
Initially we were skeptical, but got to know that we will have to live with COVID for quite some time. So, why suppress your cravings? Just the day before, I got a box of my favourite ice-cream. I can eat loads of it, but we have been limiting the intake because doctors say one can get cold and cough from eating chilled foods. I make sure to drink hot water after I eat ice to be on the safe side. I make halwa ice-cream is not in the stock at home.
Sunanda Ranjan, 31, Vaishali
I like ice-cream, but didn’t have it very often during the lockdown. Now, as food delivery websites deliver ice cream at home, I have had no reason to go out just for ice-cream. People were scared to eat ice-cream during the pandemic, but I was undeterred.