Hoodsie History
Going home for the holidays is always a nostalgic experience, especially when it comes to food. I spent a week at my parents’ house in Massachusetts, and the first thing I did after dropping my suitcase by the front door was head straight for the fridge—or more specifically, for the freezer. Every year, in anticipation of my brother’s and my arrival, my mother stocks up on all the ice cream flavors we loved as kids: Oreo-mint, cookie dough, chocolate-fudge brownie.
As I dug my spoon into a carton of Ben & Jerry’s (no bowl necessary), I tried to remember the first time I ever tasted ice cream. How old was I? What flavor was it? Was the ice cream store-bought or did we go out to a special shop like Friendly’s or the Newport Creamery?
While I couldn’t recall the specific moment my love of the sweet stuff was born, I did remember—quite vividly—an ice cream treat I adored as a kid. One I had forgotten about. One I hadn’t had in years: the Hoodsie.
Hoodsies are produced by Hood, a Massachusetts-based dairy company. They were invented in 1947, but I didn’t have my first one until about 1987, when I was 6 years old. A Hoodsie, for those who don’t know, is a small waxed-paper cup decorated with red polka dots and filled half with chocolate and half with vanilla ice cream. Hoodsies come with a small wooden "spoon" (more like a paddle), and taste incredibly airy and light, almost like frozen whipped cream.
On Ice Cream Day (Friday) at my elementary school, Hoodsies were one of three dessert options after lunch, along with Nutty Buddies and Rocket Pops. They were everybody’s favorite and always the first to go. I can still feel the nervous anticipation of waiting for my turn in line. Would there be any left? What if the boy in front of me got the last one and I was stuck brushing the (then objectionable) peanuts of a soggy Nutty Buddy?
These days, walk down any supermarket freezer aisle, and in addition to the pints and gallons, you’re sure to find an array of ice cream sandwiches, from Klondike to Skinny Cow. But I’m interested to know what else you’d like to see. What is your favorite, long-forgotten ice cream treat? When was the last time you had it, and at first bite, did it—in that way that only ice cream can—make you feel like a kid again?
About the author: Lucy Baker is a graduate student in the writing program at Sarah Lawrence College. Before returning to school to pursue an MFA, she was an assistant cookbook editor at HarperCollins. She lives in Brooklyn and is currently obsessed with all things fennel.
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17 Comments:
Orange push-ups. The polka dot covered cardboard tube filled with orange sherbet and a plunger like plastic bit in the bottom to push it up as you eat it. It has to be at least 10 years since I had one....but I know they are still around. In fact...I think I'll be stopping by publix tonight.
jcrisco at 11:56AM on 01/14/08
Pudding pops will always have a special place in my heart.
Kerosena at 12:09PM on 01/14/08
Ah, elementary school. The days before sugar, fat and salt (my favorite food groups) were dirty words.
You had Hoodies, we had Dixie Cups, which were the same thing; (Manufactured by the now-defunct Sealtest Dairy, Baltimore) so named for the company who made the cartons for them.
I remember Cho-Chos. A chocolate-malt ice cream stick dipped in chocolate coating with some sort of crisped-rice. Also, Drumsticks which I know you can still find. Of course they don't taste the same, and they're much smaller than when I was in the 3rd grade!!
RichardCrystal at 12:29PM on 01/14/08
As a kid growing up in NYC in the fifties and sixties, it was the intriguing Mello Roll that I bought at the corner candy store that I remember the best.
They were these great, fat, creamy cylinders of ice cream (I only had vanilla and it was the best vanilla ice cream I have ever had including ice cream I have made myself), wrapped in paper that needed to be peeled in opposite directions, causing the ice cream roll to plop into a similarly shaped waffle cone. The cylinder-shaped cone prevented melting ice cream to drip along the sides of the cone and onto you. The cone had a flat bottom (so much more practical than a point).
Mello Rolls were convenient for the candy store owner who knew how many servings of ice cream were available or needed, and they made the customer feel special instead of getting their serving scooped out of a large, impersonal vat.
Mello rolls served as a basis for some rather rude sayings which inspired the creators of the TV show, Welcome Back, Kotter:
"Most of the stuff came from my high school," Kaplan said. "The real
phrase was 'Up your hole with a Mello roll.' A Mello roll was a like
an ice cream they sold in New York and that was a standard catch
phrase on the street. If you insulted anybody, you said something like
that or something about their parents. And that became part of the
beginnings of the show and then we got away from that. We had to change it of course for television - to 'Up your nose with
a rubber hose.'"
Michelle B at 1:11PM on 01/14/08
Before--and on rare occasions, after--my parents went on a decades-long health-food bender, my mum would buy ice-lollies from a push-cart vendor, for my brother and me. My favourite was a toxic-waste green, mint flavoured one. I hadn't had one in literally ages, but last September I did: brought me right back. And dam'... I STILL liked it!
Another winner (no, I'm not joking) is a lemon ice on a liquorice 'stick' (these are both Italian I've never seen them elsewhere). Same 'back in that moment' feeling :)
mongoose at 1:37PM on 01/14/08
A Sidewalk Sundae. It was on a stick. Fudge in the middle surrounded by vanilla ice cream and chocolate coating. I ate them all the time when I was a kid, but haven't seen one in years.
eatorama at 1:54PM on 01/14/08
mmm....puddding pops. I actually just ate one a few minutes ago! lol
elderberry44 at 3:37PM on 01/14/08
Roasted root vegetables, grilled/baked/roasted chicken or fish, fresh fruit salad
PerkyMac at 4:14PM on 01/14/08
Any treat from the "ice cream man" in the white truck playing a very loud bell or song you could hear forever before you ever saw him on your street. Gave kids lots of time to run home and beg! My favorite was hand-dipped cones.
Do they still come to neighborhoods? I'm in the middle of nowhere now, and they would never come here.
PerkyMac at 4:19PM on 01/14/08
My mother bought a gallon of Sealtest ice cream each week (neopolitan) We were five children so it didn't last long. It was creamy and gooood!
elaine nan at 4:47PM on 01/14/08
Good Humor bars from the truck! My brother loved Toasted Almond, I wanted Chocolate Eclair. There was another Good Humor with a chocolate bar inside, vanilla chocolate chip ice cream outside, and coated in chocolate with crispies...too decadent for a little child. Somehow I managed to eat one anyway and it really was far too rich.
annien at 5:23PM on 01/14/08
Ah yes, Elaine Nan, my parents would lug home a gallon carton of ice cream (Breyer's 3-in-1 chocolate, vanilla, strawberry) for their five kids also. My mom emphasized that the brown flecks in the vanilla ice cream meant that it was flavored with real vanilla. Being the youngest, I always got stuck with the strawberry!
Michelle B at 2:57AM on 01/15/08
Good to see some love for the Hoodsie. I would add Hood Coffee Milk to that.
shlotz at 10:08AM on 01/15/08
Ours is a 3-generation family of Hoodsie fans! Fond memories of orange Creamsicles, and coffee ice cream sundaes!
CT Nana at 6:40AM on 01/16/08
My mom used to by a "brick" of neapolitan ice cream (a quarton gallon? I don't know the official size but it was the size of a brick, hence the name). She'd then make 2 waffles and put a slice of the neapolitan ice cream between the waffles.
And "strawberry shortcake" ice cream bars. These ones are still around.
earlydrive at 12:30PM on 01/16/08
Chester Bars from New Hampshire, though I'll be damned if I can find the first bit of information about them online!
Xtreambar at 12:52PM on 01/16/08
I once, yes, just once, had a vanilla-flavored popsicle. It was blue and absolutely wonderful. I have never seen one since.
In the 1950s, Hoodsies had pictures of actors and actresses on th einside of the top lid, For some reason, they were printed in blue ink.
At Fenway Park, vendors sold 3 flavored Hood ice cream cups.
CapeCodBob at 3:06AM on 01/20/08