National Ice Cream Day is July 15th - Don't Forget to Celebrate!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! July 15^th is National Ice Cream Day this year but just how long has ice cream been a favorite dessert? According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) our first president, George Washington, spent approximately $200 during the summer of 1790 on ice cream alone! The first known record of ice cream in the America's was when a guest of William Bladen, the governor of Maryland, wrote a letter in 1744 at which time ice cream was only a treat known among the elite.

In the mid 1800's the ice cream industry began to boom in America in part because of the new invention of insulated ice houses to store the frozen dessert. New technological advances helped ice cream to become a wide spread dessert and to this day is one of America's favorite.

Today, ice cream is available in countless flavors but the top three sellers are vanilla, chocolate, and neapolitan, in that order. In order to enjoy this favorite dessert, the IDFA has a couple tips to keep your ice cream tasting its best.

First of all, one should always make sure the ice cream aisle is your last top when grocery shopping and check the temperature in the freezer. A supermarket should never let their freezer temperature drop below -20 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure that the ice cream will keep its proper texture and consistency until the consumer can get the ice cream home to their freezer. Ice cream should be stored in an at home freezer between the temperatures of -5 and 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ice cream should be stored in the main compartment of the freezer, not on the door which may expose it to varying temperatures. The cardboard containers that ice cream often come in are very porous and therefore ice cream shouldn't be stored near open containers whose odors may seep into the ice cream.

When serving ice cream, it is appropriate to leave it sit out for several minutes as the proper temperature to serve ice cream is between 6 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as you finish scooping the ice cream, return it to the freezer to prevent unnecessary melting and re-freezing which can result in the creation of large ice crystals.

The ice cream industry produces over 1.6 billion gallons of ice cream a year with more than 90% of American households contributing to this consumption. The 1.6 billion gallons of ice cream isn't consumed in full by Americans, in fact 26,000 metric tons are exported every year. The top two destinations are Mexico and Canada, who combined, create a market worth approximately $29.6 million.

There is plenty of ice cream to go around this year so make sure you get your share on July 15th!

These facts have been cited from the International Dairy Foods Association website found at: http://www.idfa.org