Grab your spoons, unwrap those waffle cones, and get ready to celebrate everyone’s favorite summer holiday: National Ice Cream Day! Held every year on the third Sunday in July, this special day is dedicated to honoring the sweet treat that brings out the inner child in all of us.
Whether you’re a classic vanilla purist, a chocolate-fudge enthusiast, or an adventurous single-origin artisanal flavor fan, there’s no better time to indulge. But how did this delicious holiday come to be—and how did ice cream itself become America’s ultimate comfort food? Let’s dive into the fascinating history and fun facts behind the frozen dessert we all love!
📜 A Scoop of History: How National Ice Cream Day Started
While humans have been enjoying cold desserts for thousands of years, the official holiday as we know it today was created by none other than President Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Through Presidential Proclamation 5219, Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of July as National Ice Cream Day. In his proclamation, he praised ice cream as a “nutritious and wholesome food, enjoyed by over ninety percent of the people in the United States” and called upon the nation to observe the occasion with “appropriate ceremonies and activities”—which, naturally, meant eating plenty of ice cream!
Presidential Ties to Ice Cream:
- Thomas Jefferson was so obsessed with ice cream that he wrote out one of the earliest known American recipes for French-style vanilla ice cream (which included six egg yolks, cream, sugar, and vanilla beans).
- George Washington spent roughly $200 on ice cream during the summer of 1790—which equals several thousand dollars in today’s money!
- First Lady Dolley Madison served strawberry ice cream at President James Madison’s second inaugural ball in 1813.
🍦 Mind-Blowing Fun Facts About Ice Cream
- The Cone Was an Accidental Masterpiece: At the 104 St. Louis World’s Fair, an ice cream vendor ran out of dishes. A nearby waffle vendor named Ernest Hamwi rolled up his hot waffles into cone shapes to help him out—creating the world’s first ice cream waffle cones!
- Brain Freeze Has an Official Medical Name: That sharp sensation you get when you eat ice cream too fast is called sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia. It happens when cold food touches the roof of your mouth, causing blood vessels to contract and dilate rapidly.
- It Takes A Lot of Milk: It takes about 12 pounds of whole milk to make just 1 gallon of ice cream.
- Vanilla Reigns Supreme: Despite hundreds of creative flavors lining grocery store shelves, Vanilla consistently ranks as the #1 most popular ice cream flavor worldwide, followed closely by Chocolate and Cookies & Cream.
🍨 4 Ways to Celebrate Like a Pro
- Host a DIY Sundae Bar: Gather your favorite toppings—hot fudge, caramel, sprinkles, crushed cookies, fruit, whipped cream, and cherries—and set up an epic ice cream station for friends and family.
- Support Your Local Ice Cream Parlour (Justine’s 😉 ) Skip the big chains and visit a neighborhood scoop shop to try a fun, unique house flavor.
- Make Your Own at Home: You don’t even need an ice cream maker! Try making easy “no-churn” ice cream using sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream, or go classic with a sealable bag, ice, and rock salt.
- Try a Weird Flavor Combination: Step outside your comfort zone and try savory or unique pairings like salted caramel & olive oil, hot honey over vanilla, or sweet corn ice cream!
