By: Ivan Wang
America’s 40th president, Ronald Regan, loved ice cream.This was how July became national ice cream month, and how July 21st became national ice cream day. This tradition began in 1984 when Reagan issued proclamation 5192. People can celebrate this holiday by eating as much ice cream as they want.
The current ice cream recipe which consists mainly of milk and sugar, was created by the Arabs in the 9th century. Europeans discovered the treat in the 16th century. However, the first account of ice cream in America dates back to when the Maryland Governor, Thomas Bladen, served it for his guests.
Even though America was a bit late to discovering ice cream, they’ve made up for the lost time, because currently Americans are the biggest consumers of ice cream globally. The average American eats 20 pounds of ice cream per year, while the country spends $6 billion on it per year. While California produces the most amount of ice cream, the states that eat the most are Washington, D.C, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island.
In total, there are over 1000 recorded ice cream flavors, however, amongst them, vanilla is the most popular. Some other popular flavors are chocolate, strawberry, mint chocolate chip, and cookies & cream.
There has been a recent trend where you add unique things to ice cream to level it up. However, this is not an entirely new concept, as a cookbook in 1790 had recipes for Parmesan, ginger, and even bread flavored ice cream.
Some people believe that your favorite ice cream flavor reflects your personality, with vanilla lovers being impulsive, chocolate fans being extroverts, strawberry lovers being introverts, and mint lovers being cautious.
In 2023, Andre Ortolf set a world record for most ice cream eaten in 30 seconds, with the new record being 1.25 pounds. In 2018, Dimitri Panciera broke the world record for most ice cream scoops on a single cone, which was 125!
If you want to celebrate national ice cream month with others, you can go down to Sol Centre on July 9th, because they are hosting a special event to celebrate national ice cream month!
Sources Used:https://www.dogonews.com/2024/6/28/scream-for-ice-cream-july-is-national-ice-cream-month