Published 7th July 2021
 

You're Worth Melting For! 

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Ice Cream. And did you know we’ve got the whole month to celebrate our love of this frosty delight? Get ready for a whole month of brain freeze... as July is National Ice Cream Month1! 

A Frosty History

With many nations claiming to have invented it, what we do know is that the first ice cream in the UK was thought to have been enjoyed by King Charles II on May 19, 1671 during a banquet at Windsor Castle2, whereby a delicacy of white strawberries and ice cream was served to the top table. Ice cream remained a luxury for the well off as it needed to be served immediately, with no way to store it for any great time. 

With ice being the key factor in the manufacture of ice cream, ice was shipped all the way from Canada, America and Norway to London and other major ports, and then transported via canal barges to be stored in ice houses. From here, the ice would then be sold to ice cream makers, making ice cream available to the UK public in the early 19th century! 

And here’s the inside scoop:
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🍦New Zealand consumes more ice cream per capita than any other country, enjoying 28.4 litres per person per year on average!
🍦It takes an average of 50 licks to finish a scoop of ice cream!3
🍦Ice cream production was revolutionised by Nancy Johnson in 1843 who invented the ice cream making machine.4​​​​​​​

The Nation’s Flavourite 

Spending an additional £1.3 million on take-home ice cream during 2020, it’s clear we’re big fans. And whilst we had 99 problems, luckily a flake wasn’t one with the scare of a Cadbury’s flake shortage earlier this year!6

With new and exciting flavours and free-from options constantly coming to market, we’ve come across unusual offerings from Carrot Cake to Chicken sorbet and as far as Black Tahini with Porcini truffle crumble! Vanilla remains a firm favourite, with 84% of UK ice cream parlours stating it’s their best-selling flavour7, but we’d love to find out which one makes you melt, so hop on over to our Facebook post here to vote for your favourite flavour.  

Ice Ice Baby Recipes to Try At Home

In case you’d like to whippy up your own this month, we’ve got you covered with some great recipes from your favourite manufacturers to try at home;
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  • NEFF Home UK’s refreshing Strawberry Ice Cream with Coconut Milk, Ginger & Lime recipe will get your tastebuds talking.
  • ​​​​​​Leibherr has an indulgent Almond Brittle Ice Cream with Caramelised Oranges recipe. Topped with a few mint leaves, this dish combines plenty of flavour and texture.
  • Requiring just three ingredients, this simple Blueberry Sorbet recipe from Ninja UK is sweet, delicious, vegan friendly and gluten free too! 
  • If you’re partial to granita, Fisher & Paykel’s Champagne & Rose Granita recipe makes for the perfect dinner party dessert. (Please note this one’s for over 18’s only).
  • And whilst it’s not always necessary to use a blender or food processor, we can certainly confirm a kitchen Ninja helps. Have a peek at our top kitchen helpers here.  ​​​​​
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References:
  1. https://britishgrubhub.com/uk-food-calendar/
  2. https://londonist.com/london/history/the-history-of-ice-cream-in-london
  3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/findoutmore/bp-ice-cream-facts
  4. https://blog.liebherr.com/appliances/uk/ice-cream/
  5. https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/download?ac=229631
  6. https://www.itv.com/news/2021-05-18/cadburys-flake-shortage-causes-99-problems 
  7. https://www.dairyreporter.com/Article/2020/01/21/Vanilla-and-vegan-top-UK-ice-cream-survey