Since Tuesday, July 23 is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day, let’s talk about this simple yet extremely popular flavor.
According to nationaldaycalendar.com, there’s a few things you may or may not know about this delicious treat:
— Vanilla is the most common flavoring in North America for ice cream.
— Some may be familiar with Thomas Jeffersons vanilla ice cream recipe. The third president of the United States may have discovered a love for the vanilla flavor while visiting France. While he would not have been the first to savor the taste, Jefferson enjoyed jotting down recipes.
— The Library of Congress houses one copy of Jefferson’s ice cream recipe that has a cookie recipe on the flip side. There are only 10 known copies in existence.
— There is an ice cream parlor at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota that serves the same recipe so anyone can try it.
— New Zealand consumes the most ice cream, per capita.
— It takes about 12 pounds of milk to make 1 gallon of vanilla ice cream.
— Vanilla is the only edible fruit of the orchid family, the largest family of flowering plants in the world. There are over 150 varieties of vanilla orchid plants. It takes several months to go from the flower stage, to the bean for use in ice cream. Vanilla orchid flowers must be hand pollinated.
— Ice cream can be made with goat or cow milk. If it’s made with goat milk, heavy cream is added since the milk is naturally homogenized.
So, where are you heading today for some delicious vanilla ice cream? What’s your favorite topping? Do you pair it with a special dessert? Let us know!
Making vanilla ice cream at home isn’t too difficult. Here’s an easy recipe for you to try, provided by allrecipes.com.
Easy Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients:
2 quarts half-and-half
1 1/2 cups of white sugar
Half pint heavy cream
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
One pinch salt
Directions:
Combine half-and-half, sugar, cream, vanilla, and salt in the freezer container of an ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturers directions, about 20 minutes. Transferred to an airtight container and freeze until firm, about four hours.
