Snack

The days grow warmer. This time of year I usually get a craving for some variety of frozen fruity sweetness on a stick. It's the weather and the nostalgia conspiring to make me think I can recapture those moments of youth when I rushed to finish Popsicles, or Popsicle-like bars, before they could melt and fall from their wooden stick. So, I became extravagant and bought a box of Dreyer's Fruit Bars (as plugged by Rachael Ray) the other day. Dreyer's was once a regional company based in Oakland, but is now part of the gigantic Swiss conglomerate Nestlé. The company is probably evil, but the fruit bars are so tasty that I cannot resist being complicitous. I'm sure I'll be punished for it, as the things are probably quite unhealthy (even though I bought the sugar-free version.)

I got a twelve pack with three flavors; Mixed Berry, Black Cherry and Strawberry-Kiwi. It's not just the flavor which is so delightful, but the remarkable texture. Popsicles were never that smooth. I suspect the Dreyer's product of not being quiescently frozen, as they seem to be significantly less dense than the Popsicles and other such frozen confections in which my younger self indulged—probably too frequently. In other words, they're smooth because they've got a lot of air in them. It's a good thing they are as tasty as they are because, even having bought them on sale, and even considering decades of currency inflation, Dreyer's Fruit Bars are way more expensive than the five cent Popsicles (not to mention the three cent Freez-ee Bars) which, in those halcyon days, were so easily obtained. In fact, I'm actually considering buying more, if they're still on sale next time I'm in the store. I'd really like to try the tangerine flavor.

Eventually spring will end and I'll probably recover. For now I must snack.