Americans love their ice cream -- 1.6 billion gallons consumed in 2004
Johnna Sprockett, Athens NEWS Special Projects Contributor
July 5, 2005
July is National Ice Cream Month, providing the perfect reason (or excuse) to celebrate by visiting your favorite local ice cream parlor or the frozen desserts aisle at the grocery store.
Scooped, shaken or split. Malted, floated or a la mode. In a cone, in a dish or double-dipped. There are so many delicious ways to enjoy ice cream.
President Ronald Reagan declared July as National Ice Cream Month in 1984, including a National Ice Cream Day to be celebrated the third Sunday of the month. This, despite the fact that Americans' love affair with this sweet treat is over 300 years old.
According to the International Dairy Foods Association, the first official account of ice cream in the New World dates back to 1700, when it was served at a dinner party hosted by Maryland Governor William Bladen.
Our founding fathers were also big fans. Documents show President George Washington spent $200 on ice cream in the summer of 1790, and President Thomas Jefferson is reported to have had his own 18-step recipe for a special ice cream dessert.
Until the early 1800s, ice cream was usually reserved for the wealthy. When insulated ice houses were invented, more Americans were exposed to ice cream. As ice cream became more widely available, new treats such as ice cream sodas, sundaes and cones were created. During World War II, dairy products were rationed and ice cream became an edible morale symbol. After the war, Americans celebrated with ice cream, consuming more than 20 quarts per person in 1946. And we've been celebrating ever since--in 2004, Americans consumed about 21.5 quarts of ice cream per person, or about 1.6 billion gallons.
Out of all those gallons, the top flavor sold is vanilla, which makes up one-third of ice cream sales. Second place goes to chocolate flavors, with about one-fifth of the market, followed by nut and caramel flavors, Neapolitan and strawberry.
Luckily, there are more choices than ever for those who love the flavor of ice cream, but don't want all the fat. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets standards for labeling foods, which provides consistency among different brands and allows consumers to know the nutritional content of the product. The following are the FDA standards used for labeling ice cream:
Ice cream is a frozen food made from a mixture of dairy products, containing at least 10 percent milkfat.
Reduced fat ice cream contains at least 25 percent less total fat than regular ice cream (either an average of leading brands, or the company's own brand).
Light ice cream contains at least 50 percent less total fat or 33 percent fewer calories than regular ice cream (the average of leading brands).
Lowfat ice cream contains a maximum of 3 grams of total fat per serving.
Nonfat ice cream contains less than 0.5 grams of total fat per serving.
More and more lower-fat ice cream products are making their way to store shelves. Even premium ice brands, known for their high-quality ingredients and high calorie counts, are offering lighter versions of their favorite flavors. Ice cream lovers who are watching their swimsuit figures can also look out for other cool and creamy treats that can fulfill their ice cream cravings without filling out their waistlines. Some of these alternatives are frozen yogurt, which is lower in fat and calories than ice cream, and sorbet, which is a non-dairy alternative.
If you have a heavy-hand with the ice cream scoop, trying a prepackaged novelty product, such as an ice cream sandwich, can help you keep track of what you eat. But be careful--big calories can come in small packages. An ice cream sundae cone can have more than 350 calories and 20 grams of fat. Some better choices would be sugar-free fudge bars or frozen fruit juice bars.
The simple days of just deciding between vanilla and chocolate are gone. Today consumers can choose among dozens of varieties of ice cream, from super-premium to no-sugar-added, in every flavor imaginable. So celebrate National Ice Cream Day on Sunday, July 17 by dishing up your favorite flavor or trying something new.
The Scoop on Athens' ice cream parlors
Larry's Dawg House
Since 1964, this locally-owned, worldfamous eatery has offered delicious frozen treats along with their "Actual Size" hot dogs, hamburgers and other goods. The ice cream menu reads like frozen treat heaven: cones, shakes, sundaes, banana splits, floats, Arctic swirls, hot fudge cake and hot fudge brownies.
All of Larry's ice cream is 94 percent fat free, and you don't always have to go to the store to enjoy it: they are the only ones in town to offer soft ice cream from their ice cream truck. In fact, Larry started selling ice cream from an ice cream truck 45 years ago in 1960!
Lollipop
A local favorite for years, the Lollipop recently added a second location on East State Street across from the Athens Community Center, along with the uptown store on West Union. Lollipop offers cones, shakes and sundaes in dozens of flavors, such as the popular mint chocolate chip. Several sorbet, low-fat and -sugar options are also available.
Dairy Queen
Located on Columbus Road, Dairy Queen has a menu offering ice cream in any form you could want it, from cake to shake. The difference in nutritional content is just as wide. A DQ(R) Vanilla Orange Bar has only 50 calories and is fat-free. A medium-sized chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard(R) has 1,030 calories and 40 grams of fat.
Cold Stone Creamery
At Cold Stone Creamery on North Court Street, you can watch the staff mix together your custom ice cream creation on a frozen granite stone. The company uses high quality ingredients in their creamy ice cream and bakes fresh daily their brownies and waffle cones.
But quality comes at a high cost--in price and calories. A small dish of cheesecake-flavored ice cream has 390 calories and 22 grams of fat, before toppings like cookie dough and candy are added. A dipped waffle bowl with candy has 390 calories and 20 grams of fat. However, Cold Stone does offer several sorbet, frozen yogurt, and low- and fat-free ice cream options, along with a variety of fruit to mix-in the ice cream.
Abrio's Brick Oven
Located on East State Street in the old Village Bakery and Cafe building, Abrio's Brick Oven satisfies your after-pizza sweet tooth with a selection of sorbettos and gelatos. Gelato, also known as Italian ice cream, is a frozen dessert that is very smooth, dense and flavorful because it is whipped with much less air than ice cream.
Abrio's makes their gelatos and sorbettos fresh daily with no artificial colors or flavors. The gelatos are made with organic milk and cream, and the sorbettos are 100 percent free of milk, fat, gelatin or preservatives. Raspberry sorbetto is a popular choice.
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