By: Cindy Pu

In 1984, America’s fortieth president, Ronald Reagan, issued Proclamation 5219. It declared July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of July as National Ice Cream Day. This proclamation urges Americans to celebrate the month by eating as much ice cream as they can.

The modern recipe for ice cream uses milk and sugar as its main ingredients. In the ninth century, Arabs made a mixture of honey and fruit syrups, then chilled it with snow to make a cold, tasty treat. In the sixteenth century, the Europeans discovered the creamy, thick ice cream we know today. It was different from the Arab version of ice cream because the Europeans added milk to the recipe. Ice cream did not become popular in the US until 1744 when Maryland Governor Thomas Bladen served it to his guests in Annapolis.

Now, Americans are the world’s largest consumers of ice cream, eating an average of 20 pounds of ice cream per person every year. More than six billion dollars is annually spent on ice cream. There are more than 1,000 ice cream flavors worldwide, though vanilla remains the top choice globally. Other popular flavors are chocolate, strawberry, mint chocolate chip, and cookies & cream. According to a 1790’s cookbook, there are even ice cream flavors like parmesan, ginger, and brown bread!

Dr. Alan Hirsch, the founder of Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, believes that your favorite ice cream flavor can reflect on your personality. For example, vanilla lovers are believed to be incautious. While chocolate lovers are lively, charming, and a bit dramatic. Strawberry fans tend to be introverts and mint chocolate chip enthusiasts are careful.

In 2023, Andre Ortolf from Germany set the new world record for eating the most ice cream, 1.25 pounds, in 30 seconds while in 2018, Dimitri Panciera from Italy set the new world record for balancing the most scoops of ice cream, 125, on one cone.