In a world full of delicious desserts and treats, it can feel nearly impossible to pick just one favorite. However, ice cream is usually high on the list for most people. Cold, creamy, and sugary, ice cream makes the best snack at any season, event, time of day, party… you name it. Even lesser ice cream flavors are still good. The frozen dessert has been around for many, many years, and there are some pretty interesting facts about the history of ice cream that any fan should know.
Knowing when ice cream was invented, how ice cream sundaes came about, and where the idea for the ice cream cone came from will make enjoying your next bowl even more meaningful. Feel free to share these facts with kids (who will definitely love hearing them) or online, or just keep them to yourself — there’s no such thing as too much knowledge. Maybe these will even inspire you to try a new type of ice cream or a different flavor. Enjoy your ice cream while you check out these facts.
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1
Ice Cream Has (Probably) Been Around for a Long Time
We don’t actually know for sure when ice cream was invented, but some legends say that a dessert similar to ice cream was popular back in 5th century B.C. with Ancient Greeks. It’s also been said that in the 1300s, Marco Polo brought an early form of ice cream to Italy.
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2
It Was Brought to America in the 1700s
Ice cream may have become popular in Europe as early as the 1300s, but it wasn’t introduced to America until the 1700s. It was a delicacy because the ingredients used to make it were expensive, and refrigeration wasn’t nearly as advanced as it is today. In 1776, the very first ice cream parlor was opened in the U.S. in New York, which was only the beginning of the trend.
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3
New Zealand Eats the Most Ice Cream
Ice cream (or some version of it) is popular worldwide. But according to World Atlas, New Zealand eats the most, consuming 28.4 liters every year. The U.S. comes in next, eating 20.8 liters every year, and Australia is third, eating 18 liters each year.
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4
Ice Cream May Have Some Benefits
Ice cream is always seen as a sugary dessert and never as part of a healthy or low-fat diet. However, research from 2023 has shown that there may actually be some benefits to the frozen treat. One study found that, for diabetics, eating half a cup of ice cream each day was associated with a lower risk of heart problems.
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5
Ice Cream Sundaes Have a Fun History
You don’t actually need to add anything to ice cream to make it delicious—that said, an ice cream sundae is always a good idea. They weren’t always around, though. Legend has it, sundaes were created at a time when it was illegal to sell ice cream with flavored soda on Sundays in Evanston, Illinois during the late nineteenth century. To get around the law, shops started serving ice cream with syrup and called them “ice cream Sundays.” At some point, “Sunday” changed to “sundae” because of religious connotations.
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6
Vanilla’s Massive Popularity
There is a reason vanilla ice cream is considered a classic: polls show that it’s consistently the most popular flavor in several different countries, including the U.S., Italy, Germany, New Zealand, Brazil, and China. It’s followed by chocolate and then cookies and cream.
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7
Neapolitan & Birthday Cake are Unpopular Flavors
Vanilla and chocolate may be the number one options, but there’s a least favorite in America too. That’s Neapolitan, a mix of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate, which is the choice for only 2 percent of Americans, according to one poll. It tied for least popular with Birthday Cake ice cream, which is usually vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles and sometimes cake batter.
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8
Ice Cream Cones Were Created Around 1904
It’s said that the very first ice cream cone was made in 1896 by Italo Marchiony, who brought his invention from Italy to New York City and got a patent in 1903. However, there’s another story that says the cones were made at the St. Louis World’s Fair by Ernest A. Hamwi in 1904. He created a waffle-like pastry (zalabis) and was selling it right next to an ice cream vendor. When the ice cream vendor ran out of dishes to serve ice cream in, Hamwi offered up his wafers in the shape of a cone.
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9
Ice Cream Was Once a Rare Treat
It may be accessible all over now, but ice cream was once considered a rare delicacy mostly enjoyed by American elite. It wasn’t until 1800, when insulated ice houses were invented, that ice cream became a purchase more people could afford. The innovation of prepackaged ice cream treats and motorized delivery vehicles also did wonders to help tbe dessert boom.
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10
Melted Ice Cream Changes in Texture a Bit
Think about when you save a pint of ice cream in your freezer. If you’ve ever left it out on the counter to soften and some of it has melted, you’ve probably noticed that after it re-freezes, the texture has changed. Ice cream is made up of microscopic air bubbles that help keep it super soft and fluffy, but once they melt, those bubbles start to break down and the air escapes. When you re-freeze it, it doesn’t stay as soft as it was.
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11
The Founding Fathers Loved Ice Cream
Even the Founding Fathers were ice cream fans. When George Washington was president, he supposedly made sure both the White House and his Mount Vernon estate were kitted out with ice cream makers. Thomas Jefferson repeatedly served ice cream at his executive mansion, and out of only 10 written recipes he kept on hand, one was for vanilla ice cream.
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12
There Are 12 Different Types of Ice Cream
The ice cream we know and love in the U.S. is a creamy dairy product served in a cone or a bowl. But there are a total of 12 different (and delicious) types of ice cream around the world. Most notably, there’s gelato from Italy, made with whole milk instead of cream and no eggs. Kulfi is a traditional Indian ice cream that has been around probably just as long as American versions of ice cream. There’s also sherbet, sorbet, frozen yogurt, soft serve, Philadelphia ice cream, rolled ice cream, snow cream, Italian ice, dondurma, and mochi.
