#1
LET’S READ!
Ice cream is a beloved dessert all around the world. It comes in lots of different forms and can be enjoyed on all kinds of different occasions. Let’s dive in to the world of ice cream!
We don’t know exactly when ice cream came to the table, but we do know that this chilly dessert can be traced all the way back to second century B.C! In fact, Alexander the Great liked to eat snow and ice flavored with honey and nectar. There are also references of similar foods in the Bible, and during the Roman Empire, Caesar often sent people to bring back ice from the mountains so it could be flavored with fruits and juices and enjoyed.
A while later, this dessert became known as “cream ice.” By the 16th century, it was a regular appearance at royal tables, but it wasn’t until 1660 that it became available to the general public! Isn’t that crazy? Just 500 years ago, regular people like us couldn’t eat ice cream. We sure are glad we have access to it now!
LET’S TALK!
1. Do you like ice cream? Why or why not?
2. Do you remember the first time you had ice cream? What about the last time you had it? Tell your child about the experiences.
3. Can you imagine a world without ice cream? How would you feel if you could never eat this yummy treat?
#2
LET’S READ!
Ice cream comes in many different ways. One of the most popular ways is soft serve, which is just how it sounds–soft, creamy ice cream waits in tubs for people to order it. When it’s ordered, the server uses a plastic or metal scoop to dig into the ice cream and move it into a smaller tub or a cup, which is then given to the customer!
Perhaps more common than that is eating ice cream at home. You can find tubs of flavors in the frozen treats aisle of pretty much any store. Once you take those home, you can eat them whenever you want (or whenever your parents let you). They also sell fudge and caramel sauce so you can drizzle them onto your delectable bowl of ice cream!
Ice cream also comes in another form: sandwiches! Ice cream sandwiches are essentially made of ice cream packed in between two wafers, cookies, or soft chocolate-y bars. They are a delicious way to enjoy ice cream at home.
LET’S TALK!
1. What’s your favorite form of ice cream? Do you like to go out to get ice cream, or do you prefer eating it at home? Or do you usually want to eat an ice cream sandwich?
2. What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? Tell your child what you like about it!
3. Have you ever eaten melted ice cream, or ice cream that was too frozen? How was it?
#3
LET’S READ!
Ice cream isn’t just popular in the U.S.–it’s beloved around the world! Different parts of the world have their own versions of this treat, many of which you can buy at your local supermarket!
We’ll start with Italy. Italians make their version of ice cream with more milk than cream. This makes it richer and denser, and it also has less fat. But be warned: gelato isn’t Italian ice cream. It’s its own thing!
In Japan, they eat mochi. Mochi is made by forming sticky rice into balls the size of ping-pong balls. Then, they pound the rice into a paste and mold it around a ball of ice cream. This makes mochi sweet and it gives it a unique, crunchy texture that many ice creams don’t have!
In Iran, they eat something called faloodeh (or paloodeh). This dessert is similar to a sorbet. They take thin noodles made from starch and soak it in a semi-frozen syrup full of sugar and rose water. Then it’s served with lime juice and sometimes ground pistachios!
Finally, in Turkey, they make ice cream that can actually be bent into certain shapes by the salesman–kind of like a balloon artist would! Milk and sugar are paired with a flour made from purple orchids and a plant resin in order to make this dessert. Pretty cool!
LET’S TALK!
1. Have you ever tried an international form of ice cream? Why or why not? What did you think of it?
2. Have you ever gotten a brain freeze? What did it feel like?
3. Do you like cold or warm desserts better? Why?
#4
LET’S READ!
There are plenty of ice cream fun facts to go around. Here are a few!
It takes about fifty licks to finish the average scoop of ice cream. Bigger scoops probably take more, and more frozen ice cream is probably harder to eat than melting ice cream. But still, fifty is the usual amount of licks!
Throughout the United States, vanilla and chocolate ice cream add up to 52% of ice cream sales! Other flavors sure are great, but people love the classics.
Did you know that 98% of American families have ice cream in their freezers at all times? It makes sense; it’s definitely delicious! In fact, the average American spent over $40 per person on ice cream in 2019–which added up to $6 billion!
In 1940, scientists believed that ice cream caused polio. Why? Well, the number of polio cases grew in the summer, and so did the number of people eating ice cream! It’s a good thing scientists were wrong so we can keep eating this treat.
New Zealand eats the most ice cream per capita than any other country in the world. Each person in New Zealand averages 7.5 gallons in a year! The U.S. is second, with an average of 5.5 gallons per person per year! We sure do love our ice cream!
LET’S TALK!
1. Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla ice cream? Maybe you like a swirl (or a twist)? Tell your child why.
2. How often do you buy ice cream? Do you like having your freezer stocked with the frozen treat at all times?
3. Do you like eating ice cream cones? Why or why not?
VOCABULARY WORDS:
ice cream, cream, milk, dairy, flavor, syrup, topping, chocolate, strawberry, caramel, peanuts, shake, malt, frozen, salt, sugar, melt, yummy, store, churn, cone, waffle, hot fudge sundae, banana split, sandwich
ACTIVITIES:
• Take a trip to your nearby creamery to grab some yummy ice cream! Maybe there’s a local shop or a Coldstone or Baskin Robbins nearby. Arctic Circle also has good flavors. Have a fun ice cream night!
• Try your hand at making your own ice cream. A simple and easy recipe can be found right here, and a night of making ice cream is sure to be memorable for your little one.
• Make a “mountain” of ice cream. Put a bunch of scoops on top of each other and add every topping you have! Then talk with your child about whether or not it tastes good.
• Try out a popular ice cream alternative: frozen yogurt! There are probably froyo places near you. Visit one and see if froyo is as good as ice cream, and don’t forget to explain to your child how they’re different. (In froyo, the cream is switched out for cultured dairy.)
RESOURCES:
1. Blippi Visits an Ice Cream Truck (YouTube Video)
2. Ice Cream Song With Nina & Nico (YouTube Video)
3. Five Kids Ice Cream & Watermelon Story (YouTube Video)
4. How Is Ice Cream Made? Ever Wonder? (YouTube Video)
5. Blippi Explores an Ice Cream Truck (YouTube Video)
6. The Bumble Nums Make Enchanted Ice Cream Sundaes (YouTube Video)
7. Is This Your Favorite Ice Cream? by Ryan Rucker (Be Ice Cream or Be Nothing, 2022)
8. The Ice Cream Story by Nancy Lee Jackson-Main (Independently Published, 2022)
9. The Little Ice Cream Truck by Margery Cuyler (Henry Holt and Co., 2018)
10. Francesco Tirelli’s Ice Cream Shop by Tamar Meir (Kar-Ben Publishing, 2019)
11. Ice Cream Party: Mix and Match to Create Over 3,375 Decadent Combinations by Shikha Kaiwar (Chronicle Books, 2021)
