When reflecting on my job as a food and wine critic, a young colleague once observed: "It's a hell of a job. You have to fly first class all over the world and wherever you go, you stay in the best hotels, dine in the best restaurants and drink the finest wines. And", she added, with a pained look on her face, "to add insult to injury, they even pay you a salary for your troubles".

I admit that writing about food and wine is as close to a dream job as one can find. In fact, its a job so good that I would gladly pay to do it. There are, however, moments when the search for culinary nirvana is as baffling as the quest for the Holy Grail. When one of my editors recently phoned, for example, and requested an article about "frappes", the job suddenly seemed fraught with dangers.

It is not so much that no one knows what a frappe is as that there are so many contradictory definitions. In New York City, for example, a frappe (which some Americans pronounce incorrectly as "frap") is little more than an ice cream sundae. Travel to Albany, New York, however and the people will take a solemn oath that a frappe (which there is pronounced correctly as "frappay") is an ice cream soda. Go a bit further north to Massachusetts and everyone from age four to one hundred and four knows that a frappe is a milkshake made with any flavor of ice cream. Continue even further north to parts of New Hampshire and Vermont and you will discover that a frappe is indeed a milkshake but one that can only be made with fruit-flavored ice creams and that must be served with a generous dab of whipped cream that has been floated on the surface.

To cross the Atlantic merely adds to one's culinary confusion. The word, after all, originated in France, where the verb "frapper" means to strike, and sixty million French men and women will gladly laugh at all Americans before informing you that the frappe has nothing whatever to do with ice cream. Whether in Paris, Lyon or Orleans, a frappe is a liqueur that has been poured over cracked or shaved ice. To justify their definition, every French barman will explain that the best way to make cracked ice is to hold an ice cube in the hand and to strike it quickly with a small hammer or the blunt side of a knife.

Go into Milan, Rome or Florence and millions of Italians will tell you that both the Americans and the French are ignoramuses - that the true frappe is made by whipping or beating fruit-flavored sherbet into an almost liquid state and then drinking it through a straw. Cross the Adriatic Sea and in both Greece and Turkey it is known as an absolute certainty that a true frappe can only be made by adding soda water to beaten sherbets. To further confuse matters, Romans, Athenians and the good people of Istanbul sometimes call these concoctions frappes and sometimes "granitas".

Nor is this the end of the dilemma, for frappes are also loaded with social and political connotations. During the Reign of Terror that followed the French Revolution, frappes, which had previously been especially popular among the aristocracy, became political anathema. Two Parisian women were actually guillotined because they had been observed drinking frappes, an obvious admission to an overly enthusiastic revolutionary tribunal that they yearned for the return of the Monarchy. Many years later, towards the end of the Second World War, Giuseppe Marscone was lynched by an angry mob in Rome because he had been foolish enough to order a frappe made with Chianti wine, strawberry sherbet and angostoura bitters. If Marscone was even aware that this had been the favorite drink of Benito Mussolini is not known.

Personally, I can even testify to the fact that frappes also have sexual overtones. During the very special time of my life when I was living with Debbie, she and I would frequently enjoy a cocktail before dinner. Our order, for one scotch and soda and one creme de menthe frappe, a delightful drink made by filling a cocktail glass with cracked ice and then pouring over green creme de menthe liqueur, was always taken respectfully. When the drinks came, however, I was always given the scotch and Debbie received the frappe. Even though it was I who enjoyed the light, refreshing taste and aroma of the creme de menthe, waiters all over the world have been convinced that scotch is for men and frappes for women. Debbie and I eventually gave up in our effort to educate the waiters of the world and, after the drinks had been served, would smile, wait a few seconds and exchange glasses.

No matter whose definition one chooses to accept, there are few summertime treats more refreshing than frappes. Alcoholic or not, based on fruits or ice cream and as low or high in calories as one chooses, each of the following are easy to make and delightful to consume.

Summer Fruit Frappe
A recipes from Patisserie Veronique, Paris

1 peach, 1 nectarine or 2 apricots, peeled and pitted
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup of cracked or shaved ice

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend at a medium speed for 15 - 20 seconds. Pour the contents (without straining) into a well chilled glass and serve with straws. (Serves 1).

Strawberry Granita
A recipe from Cafe Capri on Corfu

2 cups (4 scoops) of non-dairy strawberry or raspberry sherbet or water ices
1 cup of cracked ice
3 drops of Angostura bitters
1 tsp. confectioners' sugar

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend at a medium speed for 10 seconds. Pour the contents (without straining) into tall, well chilled glasses and serve with long straws. (Serves 2).

Strawberry Frappe
A recipe from Jahn's Ice Cream Parlor, Jamaica, New York

2 cups (4 scoops) strawberry ice cream
1 cup cold milk
1/2 cup cracked or shaved ice
about 1 cup cold soda

Put the ice cream, milk and ice into a blender and blend at a medium speed until the mixture is almost smooth. Pour the contents into tall, well chilled glasses (without straining) and then fill to the top with cold soda. (Serves 2).

Ice Cream Frappe
From Ben and Jerry's, Burlington, Vermont

1/4 cup chocolate, raspberry or strawberry syrup
5 Tbsp. milk
1 1/2 - 2 cups soda
2 scoops ice cream (any flavor)
1 dollop of freshly whipped cream

Pour the syrup and milk into a large soda glass. Stir with a long spoon while adding the soda to about 2 - 3 inches from the top of the glass.

Float 1 scoop of ice cream on the soda and place another on the rim of the glass. Add a bit more soda to top off the glass and finish by floating the whipped cream on top of the soda. Serve with 2 straws and a long soda spoon. (Serves 1).

Mint Frappe
From New York City's Tavern on the Green

2 scoops chocolate ice cream
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
about 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies (thin, after dinner wafers are excellent)
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
a generous dollop of fresh whipped cream

Scoop the ice cream into a dessert bowl. Sprinkle with the crushed peppermint candies, add the chocolate syrup and top with the whipped cream. (Serves 1).

Lightly Intoxicating

With apologies to the intent of this page, some of the most popular frappes are alcoholic in nature. To sample any of the following beverages is to immediately understand that popularity. Be sure to remember that regardless of the season, alcohol and driving are bad combinations.

Frozen Daiquiri
The recipe of New York City's Plaza Hotel

6 Tbsp. light rum
4 Tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice
1 tsp. confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. Cointreau liqueur
6 Tbsp. crushed ice

Combine all of the ingredients in an electric blender and blend for 15 - 20 seconds at a medium speed. Pour the contents (without straining) into a large wine glass and serve with a short straw.

Peach Daiquiri
The recipe of the Montego Beach Hotel, Jamaica

1/2 peeled peach
3 Tbsp. light rum
1 Tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice
1 tsp. confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup of crushed ice

Combine all of the ingredients in an electric blender and blend for 10 seconds at a medium speed. Pour the contents (without straining) into a large wine glass and serve with a short straw.

Pina Colada
The recipe of the barman at Jackie's, Miami

3 oz. light rum
3 Tbsp. coconut milk
3 Tbsp. crushed pineapple
2 cups crushed ice

Combine all of the ingredients in an electric blender and blend at a high speed for 15 - 20 seconds. May be strained or served as is, always with a straw.

Creme de Menthe Frappe

Fill a cocktail glass to its brim with shaved ice. Add green creme de menthe liqueur and serve with two short straws.

Even In The Far East

The frappe has even found a place in the cuisine of the Far East. Used neither as a desert nor a beverage, these delightful concoctions are served in between courses because they are so refreshing they clean the palate of even the sharpest or most pervasive flavors and prepare one for the next course in one's meal. The following was an invention of chef Detlef Skrobanek when he was at the Hilton International Hotel in Jakarta.

Cucumber-Ginger Frappe

3 medium cucumbers, peeled, halved and seeded
50 ml. lime or lemon juice
50 gr. sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and grated finely

Shred two of the cucumbers on the blade of a food processor, pressing very lightly to make fine slivers.

Switch to the all-purpose blade of the food processor and puree the remaining cucumber. Press through a sieve to extract the juices and then add water to make 225 ml.

Combine the shredded cucumbers, cucumber juice, lime or lemon juice, sugar and ginger in a ceramic or stainless steel bowl and let stand for 2 hours at room temperature. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the coldest part of the freezer. When the mixture begins to solidify (about 1 hour), stir it well with a fork. Repeat this process 3 - 4 more times during the freezing to break up the crystals and produce a snowy texture.

This frappe may be served at once or left in the freezer for up to 24 hours. To serve, transfer to the regular refrigerator compartment for about 30 minutes, breaking up the crystals with a fork 3 or 4 times, until the mixture has a snowy consistency, almost on the verge of slushy. Serve at once. (Serves 4 - 6)

© Daniel Rogov