Ice Cream – Surprising Facts That Will Leave You Screaming For More
By Becky Ellis
When is the perfect time to enjoy ice cream? Anytime!
Ice cream is so marvelous. Creamy and refreshing and guaranteed to turn a frown upside down! Will we ever outgrown our childhood fondess for this delicious treat? Let’s hope not! We all have our favorite flavor, preference for cup or cone, sprinkles or hot fudge, but there’s so much more to know, so what’s the scoop?
We have a special day to celebrate our favorite freezer treat this month. Ice Cream Day is December 13, 2020. That’s a different day than National Ice Cream Day which is on the third Sunday of July. We can thank Ronald Reagan for signing a proclamation in 1984 naming July “National Ice Cream Month”. This may be a bit confusing, but we can’t have too many days celebrating our favorite frozen treat and I’m sure we will agree – Ice Cream Day is everyday!
Do you love Haagen-Dazs? Ever wondered where the name came from or what it means? Reuben and Rose Mattus created Haagen-Dazs in 1960 and wanted a European name so that their brand would stand out among all the other ice cream brands. Although the name does not translate into anything meaningful, they chose the name because it sounded Danish.
Eskimo Pie – the beloved chocolate covered ice cream bar was originally named the “I-Scream Bar”. The iconic frozen treat has recently been renamed “Edy’s Pie” to recognize co-founder, Joseph Edy. According to the New York Post and other news sources, the company decided to change the name after determining that the name “Eskimo” could be construed as a derogatory term for native peoples of the Arctic regions. They completely shut down production of Eskimo Pies and Edy’s Pies will appear in grocery freezers in 2021.
The International Dairy Association reports that in 2017 (most recent data) 1.4 billion gallons of ice cream and frozen desserts were produced. They also list vanilla, chocolate, cookies n’ cream, mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookie dough as being the top 5 ice cream flavors in America.
What’s your favorite flavor? I love pistachio. I make my own homemade pistachio ice cream because commercially produced pistachio ice cream is often made with chopped almonds, green food coloring and pistachio flavoring.
Boozy flavors have become popular. Häagen-Daz recently added Rosé & Cream (“Wine infused… with a refreshingly tart Rosé flavored swirl,” according to the company) and Whiskey Hazelnut Latte (hazelnut fudge and chocolate espresso flakes in a whiskey infused coffee ice cream). Their original Spirits ice cream collection includes: Irish Cream Brownie, Bourbon Vanilla Bean Truffle, Rum Tres Leches, Bourbon Praline Pecan, Amaretto Black Cherry Almond Toffee and Irish Cream Brownie Cookie Squares.
Is Chunky Monkey or Phish Food your favorite flavor? These fun names belong to Ben and Jerry’s (named for the owners) which began in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont. It is easily recognizable in colorful pints in your grocer’s freezer. They currently have 54 flavors and more are in the works. In 2019, the company reported that the favorite Ben and Jerry’s was “Half Baked” (vanilla and chocolate ice cream with fudge brownies and cookie dough) followed by “Cherry Garcia”.
Although many dogs licking a cone just as much as we do, we should not serve it to our pups. According to the American Kennel Association, it can can create gas and bloating and some flavors such as chocolate can be toxic to dogs.
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What day will you celebrate your favorite frozen treat? Are you a vanilla, chocolate or strawberry lover?