Vanilla Ice Cream Day

Vanilla Ice Cream. Aline Ponce / Pixabay.com / 2016 / CC0 1.0

The 23rd of July is Vanilla Ice Cream Day.

It celebrates plain, ole’, simple vanilla ice cream, which is still one of the all-time most popular ice cream flavours ever.

It’s really the default flavour for ice cream. If someone asks if you want ice cream with your cake or pie, you assume you will get vanilla. (Read about À la Mode)

You get to have vanilla ice cream with every meal today — have some at breakfast with waffles! Have it a la mode, in a cone, in an ice cream sandwich, in a milk shake, or in a sundae. Ice cream cake also counts!

Both soft and hard vanilla ice cream count for today, too!

Vanilla ice cream lends itself the best of all ice creams for toppings. What are your favourite toppings?

The flavour vanilla is another gift from the new world to the old. Effusive food writers with no fact checkers to answer to routinely credit U.S. President Thomas Jefferson with having invented vanilla ice cream

July is also National Ice Cream Month

#VanillaIceCreamDay

External resources: Enjoying Homemade Ice Cream without the Risk of Salmonella Infection (FDA)

Activities for today

Try making your own vanilla ice cream;
host an ice cream party today, and buy a few funky toppings for friends to try at the party;
go out for a vanilla ice cream cone;
have vanilla ice cream as a side with your favourite cake or pie;
have some vanilla ice cream in an edible waffle bowl;
make a dish with vanilla ice cream as an ingredient: maybe a float, a milkshake, or a Baked Alaska, or a cake with vanilla ice cream as a middle layer;
treat yourself to an expensive brand of vanilla ice cream you don’t often buy;
show some support to your local artisanal ice cream place;
buy several brands and do a blind taste test with friends;
look for special offers;
look for someplace that offers free pet cones of dog-safe vanilla ice cream for your pooch;
download apps from big chains such as Baskin-Robbins and look for deals on this day;
drive to an ice cream parlour out of town. Some areas have “Ice Cream Trails” for you to drive along, sampling the wares;
post your ice cream photos on social media using the hashtags for today.

History

The first mention CooksInfo knows of in print of a Vanilla Ice Cream Day being in July occurred in 2001 in The San Francisco Examiner.

“National Vanilla Ice Cream Day, July 23.” — Some dietary guidelines for July — Enjoy! San Francisco, California: The San Francisco Examiner. Wednesday, 4 July 2001. Page C6, col. 1.

Sources

Buckingham, Lindsay. Every July 23 is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day. Cleaveland, Ohio: WKYC News. 23 July 2018. Accessed June 2021 at https://www.wkyc.com/article/life/food/every-july-23-is-national-vanilla-ice-cream-day/95-576748585

Epstein, Zach. National Ice Cream Day 2020: All the best freebies and deals. Boy Genius Report. 19 July 2020. Accessed June 2021 at https://bgr.com/lifestyle/national-ice-cream-day-2020-deals/

Hernandez, Erica. July 23 is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day. San Antonio, Texas: KSAT News. 23 July 2018. Accessed June 2021 at https://www.ksat.com/entertainment/the-scoop-on-national-vanilla-ice-cream-day

July 23 is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day. Baton Rouge, LA: WAFB News. 23 July 2018. Accessed June 2021 at http://www.wafb.com/story/38703602/july-23-in-national-vanilla-ice-cream-day/

Merwin, Huge. National Vanilla Ice Cream Day Is the Bogus Food Day That America Needs Right Now. Boston, Massachusetts : Grubstreet. 23 July 2018. Accessed June 2021 at https://www.grubstreet.com/2018/07/national-vanilla-ice-cream-day-is-the-bogus-food-day-we-need.html

Mulligan, Greg. National Vanilla Ice Cream Day 2020: History, Benefits and How to celebrate this day? Pune, MH, India: Broadcast Cover. 23 July 2020. Accessed June 2021 at https://www.broadcastcover.com/national-vanilla-ice-cream-day-2020-history-benefits-and-how-to-celebrate-this-day/

National Vanilla Ice Cream Day. Fort Smith, Arkansas: KFSM-TV. 23 July 2012. 23 July 2012. Accessed June 2021 at https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/national-vanilla-ice-cream-day/527-aa71c6b8-46be-417b-942c-bcc882599c19

National Vanilla Ice Cream Day. Spartanburg, South Carolina: WSPA News. 23 July 2018. Accessed June 2021 at https://www.wspa.com/news/national-vanilla-ice-cream-day/1317060487

Strickland, Patrick and Francesca D’Annunzio. Cool off and celebrate National Ice Cream Days with scoops from these spots in Garland. Dallas, Texas: Dallas News. 22 July 2020. Accessed June 2021 at https://www.dallasnews.com/food/2020/07/22/cool-off-and-celebrate-national-vanilla-ice-cream-day-at-these-five-spots-in-garland/