Want to know the latest trend in ice cream? Well, its all about the hotties. Want proof? Watch consumers dash around Boston to the select restaurants, wine galleries and dipping shops that sell limited quantities of hot, spicy flavors of the cool treat.

Here's a taste of what they can score if they time their visits right: A "curry and coconut haute glace made of thick layers of cumin, ginger and chili, smoothed out by the coconut cream. It makes a heavenly banana sundae, striped in chocolate and caramel sauce," the Boston Globe described in its coverage of the new flavor trend.

How about chocolate ice cream with cayenne pepper, a salty caramel blend, or a banana-flavored ice cream with black pepper, to name a few other hotties circulating around Beantown?

If and when such flavors (or other chef-inspired creations) migrate to the supermarket shelf, they could conceivably bring in new users from a broader demographic and expand usage occasions, especially if home entertainment is still high on America's list at that time. Just close your eyes and envision how more sophisticated desserts could help re-energize the somewhat boring freezer section of your local store (just remember, vanilla IS the number one selling flavor!).

Since the downturn in the economy, ice cream has been categorized by price increases disguised as package shrink in order to not look extreme. Ice cream manufacturers gave their half-gallon containers a tumble in the dryer, and they came out as 48-oz. to 56-oz. packages all we got was less ice cream for the same money.