This past Saturday, June 21, marked the beginning of summer. It’s now officially time for the beach, the pool, or the neighborhood fire hydrant. And now that summer’s here, we’ve got to find ways to stay cool. Nowadays we have the luxury of air conditioning in our homes, cars, offices, everywhere. But when you’re stuck out in the sun on a hot, humid August day, you don’t have any AC! So what do you do to cool down? Ice cream.
Ice cream is a gift from the heavens. With its plentiful flavors and toppings, ice cream has the ability to never get boring. But how much do you really know about ice cream? Do you know its history? Do you know about ice cream’s odd quirks? We looked into it on our own and learned a great many facts about ice cream—knowledge that we will now pass on to you.
First Known Ice Cream Recipe
The first known ice cream recipe was handwritten in the recipe book of Lady Anne Fanshawe in 1665. In her recipe, ice cream is called “Icy Cream.” This early ice cream was flavored with orange flower water, mace, or ambergris, which is an intestinal slurry puked up by sperm whales. Not exactly an enticing ingredient.
Häagen-Dazs is American
This “Danish” ice cream brand has become a household name. Little did we know it’s not actually Danish. Two Americans—Reuben and Rose Mattus—founded the company. In an effort to sound sophisticated, Reuben and Rose made the name sound Danish. Arguably, it’s worked quite well.
Dreyer’s and Edy’s are One and the Same
This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. The font and overall graphic appearance on their cartons are startlingly similar. So why the different names? Edy’s is used in the East and midwestern United States, while Dreyer’s is used in the West and Texas. See Hardees-Carl’s Jr. for another example of this.
Not Ice Cream but Potatoes
Photographers are so sly in their powers of illusion. When it comes to pictures of ice cream for commercials or print food photographers frequently use modified mashed potatoes as a stand-in for actual ice cream.
Brain Freeze, Why?
In your attempt to cool down in the summer heat has gone too far. You’ve got a brain freeze from wolfing down ice cream. Why does this happen? It turns out that this “ice cream headache” happens because the nerve endings on 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. It’s basically a slight overreaction.
Go spread the word. Tell all you know these strange facts about ice cream. And while you’re at it, grab some ice cream. Just remember to brush your teeth afterwards for two minutes and floss. You can indulge in sweets and still have a healthy mouth. You just have to be responsible.
Dr. Mike Mavrostomos is passionate and top-quality comprehensive care dentist located in Bedminster, NJ whose continual pursuit of education and state-of-the-art dentistry has led to his being recognized as one of New Jersey’s Top Dentists by the New Jersey Top-Docs committee. Check out our website, reviews, Facebook page Connect with us and learn!