By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Among the many debates about food is one about whether ice cream is only a summer, warm-weather food or if it can be eaten year-round. While I confess that I love eating an ice cream cone while sitting on a bench outside one of my favorite ice cream parlors during the warmer weather, there is nothing wrong with eating ice cream in the winter – at least, if you are inside a warm building. In fact, some indoor ice cream parlors offer limited-time flavors for the winter season, including those for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine’s Day. However, if you are lucky enough to live in a large city, you might also find Hanukkah and Passover flavors at your favorite parlor.
That’s why I had to learn more the minute I read that a New York City ice cream parlor was offering a rugelach-flavored ice cream. Many people consider rugelach a Jewish pastry and I have to concur. Most of my never-lived-in-a-large-city-with-a-decent-Jewish-population friends have no idea what rugelach is. If you explain it to them, they come up with a similar cookie that has a different name, but which is not exactly the same. 
Back to ice cream: According to the owners of Van Leeuwen’s Ice Cream, their rugelach ice cream is made by combining Breads Bakery’s chocolate rugelach with their sweet cream ice cream. If you want to watch the process, there is a 10-second video that shows the two being mixed together and which ends with someone holding an ice cream cone with two scoops of rugelach ice cream. Does that make me want some? Do you even have to ask?
I am not sure if the flavor will still be available by the time this column appears. But if you are in New York City and just happen to visit a Van Leeuwen’s Ice Cream location, why not stop in and try one? I don’t expect you to bring any back to Binghamton for me (not that I would complain if you did), but I’d love to know what you think.