National Ice Cream Day is this Sunday, July 15th!
Ever curious about the difference between soft serve vs. regular ice cream? Here’s a little history lesson on the two:
Soft Serve
Who doesn’t love the soft, smooth and creamy taste of soft serve ice cream? It was originally invented in 1934 by Tom Carvel after his ice cream truck broke down in Hartsdale, New York. His ice cream melted, yet customers still bought it. Carvel realized a lighter version of ice cream was a brilliant business idea. He created a secret recipe and opened a store called Carvel within two years. Dairy Queen had similar ideas when developing a soft serve recipe in 1938 in Moline, IL. In a sample tasting of their new product, 1,600 servings were consumed within two hours. Still today, soft serve is a hit among ice cream lovers. It is lower in milk fat and stored at a lower temperature than regular ice cream. Soft serve is up to 45% air in volume which gives it the fluffiness that melts in your mouth.
Regular Ice Cream
Variations of ice cream can be traced back centuries to the ancient world. It began in China around 200 BC where they used a mixture of milk, rice and snow. In 400 BC, Persians ate ice flavored with fruit and rose water. At this time in Ancient Greece, snow with honey and fruit was served at markets in Athens. In Rome, Emperors carried ice from mountains to combine it with fruit. During the sixteenth century, Mughal Emperors in India had ice transported to make fruit sorbets. By the 1600’s, ice cream became popular in Europe appearing in recipes in French cookbooks. Ice cream finally reached North America by the mid 1700’s as it was introduced by Quaker colonists. Fast forward to the 1840’s and ice cream makers were invented in England and America by Agnes Marshall and Nancy Johnson. Today, the average American eats anywhere from 19-23 pounds of ice cream annually. It contains at least 10% milk fat and 16% sweeteners. 12% is milk and 55% is water.
Looking for the BEST ice cream in Boston?
There’s obviously the infamous Ben & Jerry’s, Emack and Bolio’s, and J. P. Lick’s, but what about some other local shops? Here are a few to try around Boston: Gracie’s Ice Cream, Christinia’s Homemade Ice Cream, Forge Ice Cream Bar, Lizzy’s Ice Cream, Tipping Cow Ice Cream, BerryLine, Amorino, Toscanini’s, Cold Stone Creamery, Juicy Spot Cafe, Blackbird Doughnuts, Molly Moo’s Ice Cream and Cafe.
Looking for non-dairy options? Try FoMu which serves dairy free ice cream, vegan, gluten free, soy free and kosher sweets.
For more detailed information and the top 10 list check out these links below:
https://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/2018/06/29/best-boston-ice-cream/
https://boston.eater.com/maps/best-new-ice-cream-boston
Craving Gelato and the Italian experience?
Head to the North End to be transported to Italy to enjoy some delicious gelato. During the summer, you can stroll the streets of the North End while enjoying a cone without the airfare! Click here for a list of places in the North End where you can find the best gelato.
Fun Facts about Ice Cream
- Chocolate ice cream was invented before vanilla
- Vanilla is the most popular ice cream flavor
- In Norway, the record for the tallest ice cream cone was over 10 feet tall
- 90 % of American’s have ice cream in their freezer
- New Zealand consumes the most ice cream
- A record holding 1.75 gallons of ice cream was eaten in eight minutes
- Some of the strangest ice cream flavors are lobster, octopus, horseradish and raw horse flesh… ew!
Whether you’re chilling at home or out at the beach, we hope you beat the heat and celebrate a day for eating ice cream!
