National Ice Cream Month

sticky toffee pudding ice cream

Since 1984, the US has celebrated National Ice Cream Month each July and National Ice Cream Day on the third Sunday of the month (July 15, 2007).

It seems that everyone around here goes a little crazy for ice cream during the summer months. Epicurious named their top ten favourite ice cream parlours in the US; I was happy to see that Toscanini's, a well-known Cambridge institution among ice cream lovers, made the cut for their fabulous flavours like Grape Nuts, cake batter, prune and armagnac, cardamom, and burnt caramel. In fact, the New York Times has named Toscanini's ice cream "the best ice cream in the world." If you can't get to a cone or pint of Toscanini's, see if a shop near you made the Epicurious list!

If you, like me, are interested in random culinary facts, you might like to know that, according to the International Dairy Foods Association, the most popular ice cream flavours in the US are: vanilla, chocolate, neapolitan, strawberry, and cookies and cream. I don't have an absolute 100% favourite flavour, but if I had to choose, I might pick the sweet cream ice cream that L's parents magically procure each summer from a small ice cream shop in Maine. It's delicious, and I have no idea where they get it. I wonder if it isn't better that way?!


our ice cream scoop (c. 1930 and still going strong!)

When then-President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the US ice cream holidays in 1984, he asked people to "observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities." Another excuse to eat ice cream? I can do that!

If ice cream is not your thing (but how could you?!), July is also National Baked Bean Month*, National Hot Dog Month, and perhaps my favourite, National July Belongs to Blueberries Month. Can you find a better excuse to eat up?

* I'd like to know why something like baked beans, which in my mind means long heat-up-your-kitchen cooking, has been relegated to July. Why?!