By Randy Tucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Although winter got off to a warm start Monday with temperatures in the high 40s, this is generally the time of year when people are turning on the heat in their homes, layering their clothing, sipping hot cocoa and - eating ice cream?

Yes, according to executives at Cincinnati's Graeter's ice cream company, who say the cold, blustery weather hasn't put a chill on ice cream orders.

In fact, the company expected to set a single-day record for ice cream shipments Monday. Orders for the past five days were up more than 35 percent from last year, executive vice president Richard Graeter said.

"We're shipping a boatload of it, mostly pints,'' Graeter said. "We've been getting orders from all over the country, and we've shipped over 25,000 pints in the last five shipping days.''

A box of six pints from Graeter's costs $70. An order of 12 pints is $110.

Graeter attributes the uptick in sales to newspaper and magazine articles that have appeared across the country in recent weeks, endorsing one of the Queen City's favorite treats.

Giving gourmet food items has become a trend at Christmas, he added. "People might not want to sit outside in the cold with ice cream, but they'll definitely eat it inside by the fire,'' he said.

The ice cream company saw a similar boost in orders in spring 2002 when Oprah Winfrey told her national television audience: "This is the best ice cream I've ever tasted.''

But even with Oprah's endorsement, the demand wasn't as great as it has been during this holiday season.

"We may have shipped 6,000 pints of ice cream in one day after Oprah, but we've already shipped 10,000 pints today,'' Graeter said Monday. "On an average day, we'll ship 60 pints.''

If you haven't placed your order yet, don't worry.

"Last year, we ran out of some of the less popular flavors after Oprah,'' Graeter said. "But we've been running double shifts making the stuff, although we'll probably be very low on Christmas Eve.''

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E-mail rtucker@enquirer.com