First hot dogs, now ice cream!
The Grounds Crew shares fun ice cream facts for our second favorite food holiday
I’m going to start off with some serious honesty. The only reason I eat ice cream is because people react poorly to others (me) eating sprinkles out of the container with a spoon. So today we celebrate my favorite toppings “partner in crime,” ice cream! Alli and I scoured the Internet to find some ice cream facts we hadn’t heard before (book an ice cream-focused trivia night ASAP after reading this) along with some fun recipes to celebrate this magical day! Let’s get started, shall we?
- First, being that The Relish is a new voice for female sports fans — we need to start with this fun sports fact. What is our favorite ice cream-related dish served at a ballpark? No, it’s not that bad soft-serve ice cream served in a mini plastic helmet. Yes, it is the Chocolate Babka Ice Cream Sandwich served at Nationals Park, declared “dreamy” by The Washington Post.
- Ever wonder where the term “Ice Cream Sundae” came from? I hadn’t, until I stumbled upon the International Dairy Farms Association page. “In 1874, the American soda fountain shop and the profession of the ‘soda jerk’ emerged with the invention of the ice cream soda. In response to religious criticism for eating ‘sinfully’ rich ice cream sodas on Sundays, ice cream merchants left out the carbonated water and invented the ice cream ‘Sunday’ in the late 1890s. The name was eventually changed to ‘sundae’ to remove any connection with the Sabbath.”
3. Waffle, wafer or sugar? Before the 1900s, I wouldn’t have had to worry about asking for the wrong cone nine out of 10 times. “The cone didn’t appear until 1904, when a Syrian waffle maker at the St. Louis World’s Fair began rolling his pastries into horns to help an ice cream vendor who had run out of dishes.” See, this is why people should help others when they’re in a bind. It results in creations like ice cream cones!
4. Hogs hate mint ice cream with Oreos! “Farmers in Vermont used to feed leftovers provided by Ben and Jerry’s to their hogs. The hogs didn’t seem to care for Mint Oreo Cookie.”
5. It’s time to brush up your resume and apply for a position at Ben & Jerry’s. Employees receive three free pints of Vermont’s Finest super premium ice cream and frozen yogurt every day, along with a health club membership. Win-win? Even if you only take them up on 50% of the offerings above, the answer is yes.
6. No need to learn Danish before visiting at the mall! Häagen-Dazs is not from Denmark, Germany or Sweden, as many people believe. Häagen-Dazs is a Bronx, New York, native. Reuben Mattus invented the Danish-sounding Häagen-Dazs name, believing it emitted an “aura of the old-world traditions and craftsmanship.” He added an umlaut, a punctuation mark that doesn’t exist in the Danish language, because he thought it would make his product stand out.
7. “Hey, how about a nice Hawaiian Punch?” to your ice cream trivia knowledge! The first Hawaiian Punch recipe was developed in 1934 as a tropical-tasting ice cream topping.
Had your fill of ice cream facts? Let’s move on to some fun recipes you can make!
- We’ll kick this off with a summer favorite of our Gram and Grampers. Let me set the scene. You’ve had a long day. You want something sweet, but can’t decide between your hankering for a cold soda or ice cream. If only you could have both … Surprise! You can! Check out this classic Ice Cream Float recipe and quell both those cravings at once.
2. If you’ve had a REALLY long day and a run-of-the-mill ice cream float just won’t cut it, oh my goodness do we have a solution for you! Check out this Manhattan Ice Cream Float from Food & Wine. With or without the booze, it’s a beautiful drink.
3. Now, if you’re wildly ambitious, and interested in making your own ice cream, check out “The Only Ice Cream Recipe You’ll Ever Need” from The New York Times. They have a great step-by-step video to walk you through the process (if you can make it to the video without accidentally clicking on the pre-roll ad seven times in a row and giving up).
4. And last but not least, if you just want to grab a tub of ice cream at the food store and incorporate it into some fun recipes, check out this collection of “19 Easy Ice Cream Desserts.” Just make sure your media volume is off before clicking on that link; good grief, the site ads are getting more aggressive by the second!
Well, that wraps up our National Ice Cream Day fun facts and recipes. Now, go eat some ice cream! (Here’s a list of free ice cream and special deals from Thrillist.) However, if you still have an ice cream fact void that needs to be filled, check out the photos below, they’re chock full of em.’ Until next time… ❤
