Top Twelve Ice Cream Facts

Since July is National Ice Cream Month (created by Ronald Reagan in 1984) and (third Sunday in July (July 21) is National Ice Cream Day), thought I would dish up a few frozen goodie facts.

Ice cream has the following composition by weight:  greater than 10% milkfat by legal definition, 9 to 12% milk solids-not-fat, 12 to 16% sweeteners, 0.2 to 0.5% stabilizers and emulsifiers, 55% to 64% water which comes from the milk or other ingredients.

The history of ice cream dates back to the second century B.C.
The ice cream cone was invented in 1896 with a patent being issued in 1903 to Italo Marchiony.

The United States is the top ice cream consuming country in the world.

It takes 12 lbs. of milk to make a gallon of ice cream.

Vanilla is the number one selling flavor at 27.8%, followed by chocolate 14.3%, strawberry 3.3% (hot dog flavored ice-cream is made by Udder Delights in Arizona).

Chocolate syrup is the favorite topping to put on ice cream.

The major ingredient in ice cream is air.

Depending on conditions of storage, ice cream might last one year, or it might be two weeks or less.

PETA urged Ben & Jerry's to replace cow's milk in its ice cream with human breast milk.

In the late 19th century, America's soda shops bowed to pressure from local churches to not serve ice cream sodas on Sundays. They removed the soda from the recipe and invented the ice cream sundae.

Ice cream is made from milk fat and milk solids. Sorbet is non-dairy and usually high in sugar. Yogurt is usually tart with low or no fat milk substitute. Custard is rich and smooth with lots of egg in it.

An average dairy cow can produce enough milk in her lifetime to make a little over 9,000 gallons of ice cream.

July is also National Grilling Month.

Monkey Day

December 14 is officially Monkey Day. Decided to let you know this week so you have time to prepare for this officious occasion of all things monkey business.

This is a day devoted to bananas, ape culture, and general monkeying around. Founded by a cartoonist and student at Michigan State University, Casey Sorrow unpeeled Pandora’s Banana when he jotted “Monkey Day” on a friend’s calendar. It was subsequently promoted in Sorrow’s controversial school newspaper cartoon “Fetus-X”, and by other cartoonists, and now its a sort of phenomenon. Hallmark recognizes it and it is celebrated by monkey-centric costume parties, the consumption of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey, and by just becoming concerned with what’s going on in the world of monkeys.

Four Little Known Business Facts

Fifty percent of Domino's Pizza was once traded for a used VW Beetle.
The owner of Fedex once gambled his last five thousand dollars to win 32 thousand in Vegas to save the company.
SOS in SOS pads stands for 'save our saucepans' and was thought up by the owner's wife.
Ben and Jerry's was originally going to be a bagel company.