For when you’re on Jeopardy…
- Americans consume about 15 quarts (more than 13 liters) of ice cream per person per year — the most in the world.
- According to the International Ice Cream Association (1994), supermarket sales of ice cream break down as follows: vanilla, 28%; fruit flavours, 15%; nut flavours, 13.5%; candy mix-in flavours, 12.5%; chocolate, 8%; cake and cookie flavours, 7.5%; Neapolitan, 7%; and coffee/mocha, 3%.
- As a rule, ice cream must contain not less than 10 percent milkfat, nor less than 10 percent nonfat milk solids.
- The first commercial offering of soft serve ice cream was in 1938 by J.F. “Grandpa” McCullough and his son Alex McCullough, future co-founders of the Dairy Queen chain of soft serve and fast food restaurants.
- Soft serve is generally lower in milk-fat (3% to 6%) than ice cream (10% to 18%) and is produced at a temperature of about −4 °C compared to ice cream, which is stored at −15 °C. A warmer temperature allows the taste buds to detect more flavor. Soft serve contains air introduced at the time of freezing. The air content, called overrun, can vary from 0% to up to 60% of the total volume of finished product. The amount of air alters the taste of the finished product. Product with low quantities of air has a heavy, icy taste and appears more yellow. Product with higher air content tastes creamier, smoother and lighter and appears whiter. The optimum quantity of air is determined by the other ingredients and individual taste. It is generally accepted that the ideal air content should be between 33% and 45% of volume. More than this and the product loses taste, tends to shrink as it loses air and melts more quickly than that with less air.
- Jimmies v. sprinkles? Popular knowledge concurs that the Just Born candy company in Bethlehem, PA began producing sprinkles in the 1930s and, since a man named Jimmy ran the sprinkles machine, the product was naturally nicknamed after its maker.
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