I scream, you scream, we all scream for National Ice Cream Day! In fact, it’s National Ice Cream Month in the U.S., and you can thank former President Ronald Reagan for that. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I should have done this before now. So, here’s a little history on the Day…
Almost any flavour of Ice Cream you can think of is available, from universally acclaimed
Vanilla (the original) to the most recent, trendy single-flavour variety, Pickle Juice!
In the U.S, National Ice Cream Day was created by a joint resolution of Congress in 1984, and was officially inaugurated by a President proclamation by then-top-gun Ronald Reagan in July of that year. It is now celebrated as the third Sunday of July, and is the focal point of celebrations lasting qll month.
The Dairy Farmers of Canada say the Day is also celebrated on the third Sunday in July here. In The UK, National Ice Cream Day is also celebrated on the third Sunday of July, with National Ice Cream Sandwich Day following close behind on August 2.
Use the Web, Luke!
Perhaps one of the most popular Food Days, you can Google ‘National Ice Cream Day’ and get back dozens of pages of returns on the national and regional celebrations, stunts and specials offered today. So, I don’t have to do that, here, and bore you to death with the repetition. Suffice it to say, if you have an Ice Cream outlet in your town, it’s celebrating!
And join in an online survey just posted by Cable News 12 (serving NYC and the Hudson Valley) on how you prefer to eat your Ice Cream!
By the numbers…
Ice Cream.com has a great infographic with all the facts and figures you’d ever want to know about the universal frozen treat.
Top Ice Cream questions asked and answered:
What is the favourite flavour of Ice Cream? Perennially, globally, it’s good old fashioned Vanilla, followed closely by Chocolate.
What are the main dietary stats on Ice Cream? Depending on the recipe, Ice Cream comes in at anywhere from 160 to 200 Calories per 100 g / 4 oz. serving, with an average of 4 g of protein, 26 g of carbs, 9 g of fats, 60 grams of water, 80 mg of calcium and 160 mg of phosphorous.
How Much Ice Cream is consumed each year? In the U.S, it’s 26 litres / 6.5 gallons per capita. New Zealanders and Australians come in second and third, downing 23 and 18 litres / about 6 gallons and about 4.5 gallons respectively. Canada is way back in the pack on this metric at a little under 4.0 litres / 1 gallon projected per capita for 2018. But, of course, Canadians have 3 months of winter and 6 months of bad skiing to contend with, which only leaves about three months of prime Ice Cream season weather…
How Much Ice Cream is sold? A world wide total of more than 15 billion litres / 3.75 billion gallons of ice cream is consumed annually.
How much money is spent on Ice Cream? Just over (US)$12 billion is spent on Ice Cream, globally, each year.
So, there you have it!
All the background info you’ll need to dominate the dinner table talk tonight about National Ice Cream Day!
~ Maggie J.