According to the International Dairy Foods Association, on average, Americans consume about 22 pounds of ice cream and similar frozen desserts each year. In fact, in 2022, ice cream makers in the U.S. churned out 1.38 billion gallons of ice cream.
We Like Our Ice Cream!
My grandfather was a BIG fan of ice cream and had at least one flavor of it in the freezer at all times. As a child, I remember every time we came to visit, he would shuffle over to the freezer, and sing out, “I Scream, You Scream, We ALL Scream for ICE CREAM!” as he brought out a favorite carton from his stash.
National Ice Cream Month & National Ice Cream Day
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day….In the proclamation, President Reagan called for all people of the United States to observe these events with “appropriate ceremonies and activities.”–www.idfa.org
Fun Facts
- More ice cream is sold on Sunday than any other day of the week.
- The ice cream cone was invented at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. An ice cream vendor ran out of paper cups and asked a neaby waffle booth to make some thin waffles he could roll up to hold the ice cream.
- It is also reported that a patent had been taken out in the late 1890s for an ice cream cone by Italo Marchiony. So, the ice cream cone was most likely popularized at the St. Louis Fair, but probably not invented there.
- The majority of U.S. ice cream and frozen dessert manufacturers have been in business for more than 50 years and many are still family-owned businesses.
- Fortune Business Insights estimates the global ice cream market will reach $104.96 billion in 2029, up from $71.52 billion in 2021 — a 46% jump in less than a decade due to the worl’s craving for ice cream.
MORE Fun Facts
- The country that consumes the most ice cream is USA, followed by Australia then Norway.
- The average American eats roughly 20 pounds of ice cream each year, or about 4 gallons.
- The most popular flavor is vanilla, then chocolate.
- Chocolate ice cream was invented before vanilla.
- Industrial ice cream production in the US began in 1851.
- An ice cream headache or “brain freeze” happens because the nerve endings in the roof of your mouth are not used to being cold and they send a message to your brain signaling a loss of body heat.
- Waffle cones beat out sugar cones 32% to 12% among consumers, but 37% of consumers prefer to eat their ice cream out of a bowl.
- The tallest ice cream cone was over 9 feet tall in Italy.
- Chocolate syrup is the most popular ice cream topping.
- Hawaiian Punch was originally created and marketed as syrup intended as an ice cream topping, but it became more popular mixed with water as a drink.
- The Sundae was invented when, in the 1890s, religious leaders criticized the serving of “sinfully” rich ice cream sodas on Sundays. As a result, the ice cream and syrups were served without soda water and the “sundae” was born.
- The earliest versions of Neapolitan ice cream were made of green pistachio, white vanilla, and red cherry ice cream and was made to resemble the Italian flag.
Let's Make Some Ice Cream!
William Bond's Coffee Ice Cream (Frozen Custard)
If you like coffee and you like ice cream, you are going to LOVE this!
Equipment
- Ice Cream Maker
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ cup half-and-half
- 1½ packets Starbucks Via Instant Italian Roast Coffee 4.9 g
- 1½ cups half-and-half
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 pinch Kosher salt
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together first four ingredients
- Heat next five ingredients to a simmer in a heavy saucepan
- Stir 4-5 tablespoons of the hot cream into the egg batter to temper and then add back into the saucepan
- Cook cream and batter while stirring almost constantly. Remove from heat at 175° F
- Cool the cream batter in an ice bath and/or refrigerator before adding to an ice cream maker.
Blackberry Rose Ice Cream
This recipe is a wonderful and complex combination of bright berry with floral freshness.
Servings 6
Equipment
- Ice Cream Maker
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh blackberries picked through and rinsed
- 2 tbsp superfine sugar
- ½ cup filtered water
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp confectioner's sugar
- 2 tbsp rosewater
Instructions
- Place blackberries and superfine sugar into a medium size saucepan and simmer until berries are tender, (approximately 10 minutes).Press through a fine mesh strainer and allow to cool completely.
- Pour the water and granulated sugar into a heavy saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a steady boil until the syrup reaches a temperature of 225°F. (thread stage on a candy thermometer).
- Whisk egg yolks in a medium sized, heatproof bowl until frothy and then place bowl over simmering water, (not allowing the bowl to touch the water). Gradually, whisk in the hot sugar syrup, whisky steadily until mixture reaches a creamy consistency. Remove from the heat and continue to whisk until cool.
- Mix the whole milk and heavy cream and add berries, confectioner's sugar and rosewater. Fold berry/cream mixture into the egg mixture and place batter in refrigerator to chill completely. (4 hours or overnight).Pour into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturers instructions. Transfer to a container and freeze.
Cannoli Ice Cream
This recipe captures and delivers all of the qualities you crave in a cannoli in frozen form. The custard is egg free which allows the subtle flavor of the ricotta to shine, and the crushed sugar cones soften in the ice cream to create a wonderful chew which is scooped into cones to mimic the sensation of biting into a crisp cannoli shell.
Servings 1 quart
Equipment
- 1 Ice Cream Maker
Ingredients
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2½ tsp Diamond Crystal salt or 1½ tsp Morton kosher salt
- 2¼ cups half-and-half divided
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 1¼ cups whole-milk ricotta
- 2 sugar cones coarsely crushed, plus more for serving
- ¼ cup orange-flavored chocolate (such as Lindt) coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup raw pistachios, preferably Iranian or Sicilian coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Heat lemon zest, sugar, honey, salt, and 2 cups half-and-half in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking occasionally, just until sugar is dissolved and mixture is steaming, about 5 minutes.Meanwhile, whisk cornstarch and remaining ¼ cup half-and-half in a medium bowl until smooth.Add cornstarch mixture to saucepan; reserve bowl. Cook, whisking constantly, until custard is thickened and large bubbles break on surface, 6-9 minutes; remove from heat.Place cream cheese and ricotta in reserved bowl. Pour about one quarter of hot custard over; whisk vigorously until smooth, about 2 minutes.Pour in remaining custard and whisk to combine. Let cool, whisking occasionally, about 20 minutes.Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl. Cover ice cream base and chill until thick, at least 4 hours.Transfer ice cream base to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's directions until the consistency of soft-serve.Add crushed sugar cones, chocolate, and pistachios and run machine for a few minutes to evenly distribute.Scrape ice cream into an airtight container and press plastic wrap directly onto surface.Cover and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.Scoop ice cream into cones.
Notes
Ice cream base can be made 4 days ahead; keep chilled. Ice cream can be made up to 3 days ahead for best texture; keep frozen.
The One And Only Heavenly Huckleberry Ice Cream
The only way this recipe can fail is if you cook the batter too long, so be sure to use an instant read thermometer and take the batter off the heat when it reaches 175°F.
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups huckleberries fresh or frozen
- 1 cup granulated sugar divided
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 ex-large egg yolks
Instructions
- Combine ¼ cup sugar, huckleberries and lemon juice in a small saucepan, set over medium heat. Bring to a rolling boil.Puree huckleberries in a blender or with an immersion hand blender and then strain through a fine mesh strainer. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add 1 cup heavy cream and vanilla and place the fine mesh strainer over top.Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl and set aside.Mix milk, remaining heavy cream, ¾ cup sugar and salt in a medium sized saucepan placed over medium heat. Mix well.When milk and cream mixture begin to steam, slowly pour approximately 1 cup of the steaming mixture into the egg yolks while continually whisking. (This is called tempering). Pour egg/milk/cream mixture back into saucepan. Add strained huckleberry mixture and continue to cook over medium heat until batter reaches 175° F.
- Pour batter mixture through the fine mesh strainer set over the reserved heavy cream and vanilla. Stir and cool over an ice bath to room temperature.Cover and chill thoroughly, 5 or more hours or over night.Churn ice cream in an ice cream maker, according to manufacturers instructions.Transfer to a freezer safe container, cover and freeze until firm.
Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Cups
The next best thing to peanut butter ice cream is peanut butter ice cream with peanut butter cups in it. This recipe hits the sweet spot!
Equipment
- Ice Cream Machine
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ tsp fine sea salt
- 5 ex-large egg yolks
- 1 cup peanut butter
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup small peanut butter cups cut into bite size pieces
Instructions
- Add heavy cream, milk, sugar and salt into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved completely. This will take about 5 minutes.Remove saucepan from heat.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk egg yolks. Temper cream mixture by slowly whisking in about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, whisking constantly. Whisk the yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the cream.Place the saucepan with the cream/yolk mixture on medium-low heat and gently cook until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, (about 170° F)
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Whisk in peanut butter and vanilla extract. Cool mixture to room temperature and then cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Stir in chopped peanut butter cups and pour into a freezer container. Place in freezer and freeze until firm.
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Mint chocolate chip has always been my favorite and this recipe is absolutely perfect.
Servings 6
Equipment
- Ice Cream Maker
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites
- ⅔ cup superfine sugar
- 1 can evaporated milk 13 oz.
- ½ tsp peppermint extract
- 1 cup good quality dark chocolate finely chopped
Instructions
- Whisk egg whites until they form soft peaks and gradually whisk in the sugar.Place evaporated milk into a bowl along with the peppermint extract and whisk until thick. Fold whisked egg whites into mixture and gently add chocolate.Pour into ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions.Place into a container and freeze until firm.
Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream
Homemade vanilla ice cream is always great, but Earl Grey Ice Cream combines two of my favorite things and it's the BOMB!
Equipment
- Ice Cream Maker
Ingredients
- 2 cups half-n-half
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp Earl Grey loose tea leaves
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 6 large egg yolks
Instructions
- Pour half-n-half and cream into a medium, heavy bottom sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in sugar, tea leaves and salt. Heat mixture until you observe steam rising. Remove from heat and strain into a bowl using a fine mesh sieve. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy. Temper batter by whisking in a small amount of hot cream mixture into the yolks. Continue to add the cream mixture, whisking in a little bit more at a time, until you have added about half. Add the yolk mixture back into the remaining dairy mixture and set sauce pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until steam begins to rise and batter thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon and reaches about 170°F on an instant read thermometer.
- Strain the custard into a bowl and stir. Allow to cool to room temperature and then transfer to a quart-sized container, cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 or or overnight.
- Pour the chilled batter into an ice cream maker and proceed according to manufacturers instructions. Churn the ice cream until the texture has a "soft serve' consistency. Transfer ice cream to a container and place in freezer to freeze completely.
Blood Orange Granita
Don't do dairy? No problem! You will love this refreshing and easy to make frozen confection.
Servings 4
Equipment
- Food Processor or Blender
Ingredients
- 2 lbs blood oranges
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Cut off the tops and bottoms of the oranges with a sharp knife, then cut away the pith and peel. Working over a bowl to catch the juice, cut the segments out of the oranges and squeeze all excess juice from them.
- Strain the juice into a saucepan, add the sugar and place over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Place the orange pieces into a food processor or blend and process until smooth. Stir in the sweetened juice and then pour mixture into ice cube trays. Freeze until firm.
- Remove the granita cubes from the freezer and place them into the food processor or blender and process for 30 seconds. Transfer the ice to chilled glasses and serve immediately.
Notes
Learn more about blood oranges
