"I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!"

Children all over the United States can be heard saying this in the spring and summertime, but ice cream started as a treat for people of wealth and power. To this day, the history of ice cream still remains to be a bit of a mystery. However, ice cream is thought to have come from Rome, Italy where chefs made gelato and Italian ice. But the secret recipes did not stay too secret and soon France and Great Britain were enjoying the delicious cold dessert. Dolley Madison, James Madison's wife, is reported to have served ice cream at her husband's inaugural dinner. This was the first time the dessert was recorded in the United States. The first ice cream shop was opened in Baltimore in 1851. Because freezers were not invented until the 1930's, the ice cream was made at the time you ordered it and enjoyed immediately. Clarence Birdseye was the father of freezing foods. His work made it possible to freeze and sell ice cream like we see today at grocery stores. It doesn't matter if it is on a cone, in between cookies or covered in hot fudge and whipped cream with a cherry on top, today ice cream is a treat that can be enjoyed by children and adults.

Top 5 Most Popular Ice Cream Flavors
1. Vanilla
2. Chocolate
3. Butter Pecan
4. Strawberry
5. Chocolate Chip

*Ice cream consumption is the highest during the months of July and August, which makes sense because July is National Ice Cream Month...the third Sunday in July is National Ice Cream Day!
*The average number of licks to polish off a single ice cream scoop is 50.
*98% of all households in the US purchase ice cream.
*Out of all the days of the week, the most ice cream is bought on Sunday.
*Most popular topping is chocolate syrup...who would have thought! 

Love ice cream but suffer from "brain freeze?" Well don't stop eating ice cream. Everybody has a nerve center located on the roof of their mouth. When something cold touches this spot, people get the sensation known as an ice cream headache or "brain freeze." It often occurs only in hot weather.
Prevention: When eating ice cream, try to limit the amount of cold ice cream touching the roof of your mouth.

There are so many choices when if comes to ice cream; from flavor to toppings the possibilities are endless. There is even a choice of the type of ice cream you can get. These include low-fat, light, non-fat, no sugar added and for those of you that are lactose intolerant there is a lactose-free ice cream as well.

So go ahead, enjoy your summer and beat the heat with a big scoop of your favorite flavor of ice cream!