mining the vein

The act of scooping out and eating all the good parts of ice cream contained in the swirling ribbon of caramel, fudge, nuts, or other mixed-in ingredients, while eating from a container of ice cream. Analogous to a miner following and excavating a vein rich in precious metals or gemstones, leaving the less desired ore behind.

“My pint of Ben & Jerry’s is all picked through with holes in it and looks like Swiss cheese. My wife must’ve been mining the vein of fudge and nuts.”