If I were a dessert …

… I’d be pumpkin ice cream.

There are 2 kinds of people in the world: people who’d try pumpkin ice cream and people who wouldn’t. You know what I mean — there are people who don’t stray from the flavors in a tub of Neopolitan. And then there are people who’ll eat anything. Those are my people.

My favorite pumpkin ice cream happens to be made in my hometown by Amy’s Ice Cream, though — lamentably — only from Halloween to Thanksgiving. It’s thick and creamy and full of spices, just like the pie. My second favorite pumpkin ice cream is made by Fosselman’s in Alhambra, Calif., where it’s served from Halloween to New Year’s Eve, partly as a result of me going there a couple of times a week, which pushed demand way up. I’ve heard that Graeter’s in Cincinnati has a great version as well, though I’ve never found myself in Ohio to verify that.

I recently acquired an ice-cream maker, so with it being nearly summer and this being Texas, I’ll probably start The Great Pumpkin Ice Cream Experiment before too long. But first I need to dig up the directions.