The Hungry Poet: Mr Whippy Ice Cream
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter here for all my latest writing.
Is a Mr Whippy now and again really that bad? On a beach? On a hot day? With strawberry sauce? And a flake? And maybe if you’re feeling extravagant chocolate sprinkles? Is it?
As someone with a keen interest in cooking, a parent, and someone involved in education, I shouldn’t be promoting UPFs, and I’m not, but I think there should be a sense of perspective. There are certain foods which get a bye-ball from me and Mr Whippy is one of them (Kit-Kats being another) . They are light, not too sweet, dramatic in their swirliness (as opposed to fecund in their nuttiness like a Picnic bar), and seem incapable of fully melting (let’s not ask which preservative is used for that!). And what's more: they're fun!
They are a staple of summer. In fact, is there even a part of me which is slightly disappointed when the ice cream van only serves real ice cream? Maybe. Don’t get me wrong, a proper ice cream made with egg yolks, double cream and real vanilla is unparalleled but for fun and nostalgia and novelty Mr Whippy triumphs. But, maybe herein lies the problem with UPFs; they fool us into this mindset of thinking ‘oh well, it’s just a little treat’ and before we know it we’re open mouthed under the machine guzzling litres of the stuff into our gobs.
No. I think companies who make UPFs are just trading on people’s poor self-control. It’s we the customers who need to get a grip and know when enough is enough, and say no to the double, large, sauced and decorated Mr Whippy, instead of the medium with the Flake. For that reason I’m against banning UPFs completely, as I think we, as consumers, need to get a grip, take responsibility for our own intake and diet and be the masters of our own souls and, indeed, digestive systems, and not let these companies walk all over us. We need to learn to live with UPFs as part of a well balanced diet; it sounds boring but I think it’s true.
And for that reason, make mine a medium with a Flake please!
