National Ice Cream Day

Today is National Ice Cream Day!

This day is celebrated on every third Sunday in July. The day was decreed by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1984. The decree was done to glorify the dairy industry. Americans consume more ice cream than anyone else in the world, on average about 23 gallons a year. Mmm, ice cream...

The creation of ice cream can't really be pegged on one person. Modern ice cream's history is long and a story of evolution, provided by National Today. The first recorded consumption of an ancestor of ice cream was in China from 618-97 AD, made from flour, buffalo milk, and camphor. Alexander the Great enjoyed treat that mixed ice, honey, and nectar. During the reign of Julius Caesar, he'd send men to gather snow from the mountains so he could enjoy it mixed with fruit and juices. 

Marco Polo would introduce the West to the sherbet thanks to bringing back a recipe for it from the Far East. In 1660, the general public would get to know ice cream thanks to a Sicilian chef named Francesco Procopio dei Cotelli, aka Procopio Cuto. Inspired by a dish that was a mixture of snow, fruit juices, and honey, he created gelato. Gelato is just the Italian term for ice cream. Cuto had inherited an ice-making machine that was invented by his fisherman grandfather Francesco. Cuto improved and modified the machine and used it to make gelato in his Parisian Cafe. As such, he is credited as the inventor of modern gelato.

The first-known time ice cream was mentioned in the United States was in a letter written by a guest of Maryland Attorney-General William Bladen in 1744. On May 12, 1777, the New York Gazette printed the very first advertisement for the cold treat in the country. The popularity of ice cream in the United States exploded after the American Revolution, and it's been beloved by Americans since then.

So, on this day, go and enjoy yourself a nice scoop of ice cream. Thanks for enjoying this blog entry! See you next time!