History of Ice Cream

The first frozen dessert is credited to Emperor Nero of Rome. It was a mixture of snow (which he sent his slaves into the mountains to retrieve) and nectar, fruit pulp and honey. Another theory is Marco Polo, 13th century bard and adventurer, brought with him to Europe from the Far East recipes for water ices....said to be used in Asia for thousands of years.

The first ice cream parlor in America opened in New York City in 1776.

Dolly Madison created a sensation when she served ice cream as a dessert in the White House at the second inaugural ball in 1812.

Italo Marchiony sold his homemade ice cream from a pushcart on Wall Street. He reduced his overhead caused by customers breaking or wandering off with his serving glasses by baking edible waffle cups with sloping sides and a flat bottom. He patented his idea in 1903.

During the stuffy Victorian period, drinking soda water was considered improper, so some towns banned its sale on Sundays. An enterprising druggist in Evanston, IN, reportedly concocted a legal Sunday alternative containing ice cream and syrup, but no soda. To show respect for the Sabbath, he later changed the spelling to "sundae."

In 1983, Cookies 'N Cream, made with real Oreo cookies, became an instant hit, climbing to number five on the list of best-selling ice cream flavors. It also holds the distinction of being the fastest growing new flavor in the history of the ice cream industry.

Top 10 Ice Cream Consuming Countries in the World

United States
New Zealand
Denmark
Australia
Belgium / Luxembourg
Sweden
Canada
Norway
Ireland
Switzerland

Ice Cream Consumption

Each American consumes a yearly average of 23.2 quarts of ice cream, ice milk, sherbet, ices and other commercially produced frozen dairy products.

The Northern Central states have the highest per capita consumption of ice cream at 41.7 quarts. The top three cities in America that purchase the most ice cream on a per capita basis are: Portland, Oregon; St. Louis, Missouri; and Seattle, Washington.

More ice cream is sold on Sunday than any other day of the week.

Ice cream consumption is highest during July and August. July is National Ice Cream Month.

Children ages two through 12, and adults age 45 plus, eat the most ice cream per person.

The average number of licks to polish off a single scoop ice cream cone is approximately 50.

98 percent of all households purchase ice cream.

The Top Five States That Produce The Most Ice Cream.

(1) California
(2) Indiana,
(3) Ohio
(4) Illinois
(5) Michigan.

The 15 Most Popular Ice Cream Flavors

1. Vanilla, 29%
2. Chocolate, 8.9%
3. Butter pecan, 5.3%
4. Strawberry, 5.3%
5. Neapolitan, 4.2%
6. Chocolate chip, 3.9%
7. French vanilla, 3.8%
8. Cookies and cream, 3.6%
9. Vanilla fudge ripple, 2.6%
10. Praline pecan, 1.7%
11. Cherry, 1.6%
12. Chocolate almond, 1.6%
13. Coffee, 1.6%
14. Rocky road, 1.5%
15. Chocolate marshmallow, 1.3%

Supermarket Sales Divided by Flavor Category

1. Vanilla