Did you know that about 87% of Americans have ice cream in their freezer, according to icecream.com, and we eat an average of six gallons of the stuff each year. Interestingly enough, this same source quotes that about 9% of the milk produced in our country goes for ice cream. They also say that it takes 50 licks to finish off a single-scoop ice cream cone. According to another online source, Immigrants at Ellis Island ate ice cream for their first dessert in the U.S.
Americans, however, are not the only ones who enjoy this tasty treat. Italians are known to love their “gelato,” but they didn’t have it until Marco Polo had ice cream and China and brought the idea back to his homeland. The French were a bit later in their acquisition of this dairy delight; ice cream became available to the general population in France only in 1660, according to this same source.
Some people in Ancient history are known to have enjoyed precursors to ice cream. For example, Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) loved snow flavored with nectar and honey. Also, one Roman empire almost 2000 years ago “had ice and snow brought to him from the mountains, which he stored in special rooms under his palace.” He would top it with fruit to enjoy.
Here in Grand Forks, we’re no different; we love ice cream, too. In fact, each June, St. Anne’s Guest Home has a pie & cake ice cream social. Not only do we provide our guests with ice cream, but we also serve tasty desserts (their choice of pie or cake). I will probably be baking a couple of rhubarb cakes for the occasion. I hope you can join us Sunday, June 142or this event. It runs from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. And if cake, ice cream and good company aren’t enough, Chuck Gust & Friends can entice you with some old-time accordion music as well!
If you’d like to help or donate toward this event, you can fill out our form: https://form.jotform.com/50705523982154.
