Dish or cone? That’s all we need to know. National Ice Cream Day on the 3rd Sunday in July offers up every flavor on the menu to fill up the honors! The holiday also lands in the middle of National Ice Cream Month, too.
- Thousands of years ago, people in the Persian Empire put snow in a bowl, poured concentrated grape-juice over it, and ate it as a treat. Even when the weather was hot, they would savor this sweet treat. Their trick? They placed snow in underground chambers known as yakchal where the temperatures kept the snow from melting. The Persians also hiked to the mountain tops by their summer capital to gather snowfall.
- The Chinese, under the Tang Dynasty around 697 AD, took to freezing dairy with salt and ice. However, the results aren’t exactly the ice cream we enjoy today.
- Frozen treats and beverages later, culinary folks point to Naples, Italy as the birthplace of the first ice cream. They give credit to Antonio Latini. He was born in 1642 and created a milk-based sorbet.
- In the United States, the Quaker colonists earn the nod for bringing their ice recipes over with them. They opened the first ice cream shops, including shops in New York and other cities during the colonial era.
- Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson enjoyed ice cream.
- 1813 -First Lady Dolley Madison served ice cream at the Inaugural Ball.
- 1832 – African American confectioner, Augustus Jackson, created multiple ice cream recipes as well as a superior technique to manufacture ice cream.
- 1843 – Philadelphian, Nancy Johnson, received the first U.S. patent for a small-scale hand-cranked ice cream freezer.
- 1920 – Harry Burt puts the first ice cream trucks on the streets.
- Industrial production of ice cream begun in 1851 in Boston, United States.
- The first written ice cream recipe was found in a 1665 recipe book
- Spreading of American made ice cream for military troops during World War II was a moment when entire world accepted ice cream as a perfect summer-time treat.
- The largest worldwide consumption of ice cream is in United States. There, one average person consumes 48 pints of ice cream per year.
- The country that consumes the most ice cream is USA, followed by Australia then Norway.
- New Zealand consumes more ice cream per capita than any other country, with an average of 7.5 gallons per person per year.
- The US is second, with an average of 5.5 gallons per person per year. That’s 44 pints!
- 90% of American households eat ice cream.
- The most popular flavor of ice cream is vanilla. After it come chocolates, strawberry, cookies n’ cream, and others.
- Ice cream cones were invented during 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, when large demand forced ice cream vendor to find help from nearby waffle vendor. Together they made history.
- Most profitable day for ice cream sellers is almost always Sunday.
- Historians remember that Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) loved to eat snow flavored with nectar and honey.
- One cone of ice cream can be finished off in 50 licks.
- It takes 12 gallons of milk to create one gallon of ice cream.
- Ice cream “Brain Freeze” effect is triggered when cold ice touches the roof of your mouth, which causes blood vessels in the head to dilate.
- The first ice cream parlor in America opened in New York City in 1776. American colonists were the first to use the term “ice cream”. The name came from the phrase “iced cream” that was similar to “iced tea”. The name was later abbreviated to “ice cream” the name we know today.
- Ice cream testers use gold spoons to be able to taste the product 100% without a
slight percentage of ‘after-taste’ from typical spoons. - John Harrison, the ocial taste-tester for Dreyer’s Ice Cream, has his tongue
insured for $1 million.
An astonishing fact regarding Thomas Jefferson, his recipe for Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream is believed to be the oldest recipe for ice cream in the USA. The recipe below is provided by the Library of Congress. The transcript is word for word for ease of following along.
Thomas Jefferson’s Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
The Original Thomas Jefferson Ice Cream Recipe
Ice cream.
2 bottles of good cream.
6 yolks of eggs.
1/2 lb. sugar
mix the yolks & sugar
put the cream on a fire in a casse—role, first putting in a stick of Vanilla.
when near boiling take it off & pour it gently into the mixture of eggs & sugar.
stir it well. put it on the fire again stirring
it thoroughly with a spoon to
prevent it’s sticking to the casse–-role.
when near boiling take it off and
strain it thro’ a towel.
put it in the Sabottiere
then set it in ice an hour before
it is to be served. put into the
ice a handful of salt.
put ice all around the Sabottiere
i.e. a layer of ice a layer of salt
for three layers.
put salt on the coverlid of the
Sabotiere & cover the whole with ice.
leave it still half a quarter of an hour.
then turn the Sabottiere in the
ice 10 minutes
open it to loosen with a spatula
the ice from the inner sides of
the Sabotiere.
shut it & replace it in the ice.
open it from time to time to de-
-tach the ice from the sides.
when well taken (prise) stir it
well with the Spatula.
put it in moulds, justling it
well down on the knee.
then put the mould into the same bucket of ice.
leave it there to the moment of serving it.
to withdraw it, immerse the mould in warm water, turning it well till it will come out & turn it into a plate.
Sources:
