Freeze! Step away from my ice cream

HERE'S the scoop on ice cream etiquette: Don't dare ask someone to share. It's a sure way to earn a chilly response.

Ice cream

HERE'S the scoop on ice cream etiquette: Don't dare ask someone to share.

A taste, with or without permission, is a sure way to earn a chilly response.

The "unsolicited lick" is the biggest gaffe in the ice cream eating rulebook, followed by asking to share, a national poll on our passion for the frozen treat reveals.

Eating from a cone after it's been dropped on the floor also got the cold shoulder, according to the survey commissioned by ice cream brand Baskin-Robbins.

"While going out for ice cream is typically a shared ritual, slurping another's ice cream is considered the ultimate in bad manners, whether you ask first or take a lick without permission," Baskin-Robbins spokesman Julian Casa said.

Aussies intend to splurge more than $500 million on ice cream over summer, the Pure Profile online poll of 1000 consumers found.

For the most devoted, any time is ice cream time. One in four confess to having eaten the dessert for breakfast or as a midnight snack.

According to the research, 27 per cent are "slow slurpers" who prefer to savour flavour, regardless of messy melts and drips.

Almost one in four described themselves as "double scoopers" who pile cones high.

One in seven are "speed eaters" who wolf it down, and an equal number are "purists" who favour a cup over cone.

Almost half nominated classic chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or caramel as favourite flavours.

Crunchy combos such as hokey pokey, pistachio almond, mocha hazelnut and mint choc chip are the most popular non-traditional categories, ahead of fruity flavours and super sweet concoctions.

Men's hearts are the hardest to thaw when it comes to sharing.

Almost one in three said it was a no-no, versus one in five women.

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ICE CREAM PERSONALITIES

SLOW Slurper: I like to savour the flavour and don't care if it melts along the way. 27%

DOUBLE Scooper: When it comes to ice cream, more is definitely better. 23%

SPEED Eater: Melting is not an option. Ice cream headache be damned! 15%

PURIST: Why waste time on cones when you could eat more ice cream? 15%

FOSSICKER: I head straight for the best bits first, then eat the rest. 12%

CONE Cruncher: My mission is to get waffle in every bite. 8%

FAVOURITE FLAVOURS

CLASSIC (eg chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, caramel) 46%

CRUNCHY combos (eg hokey pokey, pistachio almond, mocha hazelnut, mint choc chip) 25%

FRUITY (eg mango, boysenberry, pineapple) 16%

SWEET (eg strawberry cheesecake, chocolate fudge, rainbow) 6%

THE new generation (eg green tea, sherbet, cookie dough) 4%

SALTY-sweet (eg salted caramel) 2%

Note: Rounded figures

DON'T:

LICK someone else's ice cream without permission

USE your fingers to eat - or lick them

MAKE slurping noises

ASK to share another person's ice cream

DO:

USE your own spoon

WRAP your cone in a paper napkin/serviette

WIPE drips off your face

KEEP your ice cream close - waving it about is asking for trouble