by Marissa Creamer Rowan Public Library
The hot, hazy days of July make it the perfect month to
celebrate National Ice Cream month, as designated by President Ronald Reagan in
1984. (He also designated the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream
Day, but why restrict the festivities to just one day?) According to the International Dairy Foods
Association, the average American consumes almost 22 pounds of ice cream a
year. Vanilla continues to be America’s flavor choice, followed by chocolate,
cookies ’n cream, strawberry, and mint chocolate chip. It’s hard to believe
that this creamy treat that is so readily available today was once a rare and
exotic dessert mostly enjoyed by the elite. This began to change around 1800
when insulated ice houses were invented. Ice cream production increased due to
technological advances, leading to wider availability and spawning the American
soda fountain shop, purveyors of ice cream sodas and sundaes.
Today we have access to ice cream from every supermarket
and numerous specialty shops, but the best way to celebrate National Ice Cream
Month is to make your own. A freshly
churned batch of ice cream is a great way to bring together family and friends
on a hot summer afternoon. Learn how to
make delicious ice cream with Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones by Kris
Hoogerhyde and Anne Walker. The authors
are founders of San Francisco’s Bi-Rite Creamery, which is well known for its
small-batch, handcrafted, inventive ice cream, as well as for long lines around
the block. Learn their secrets for taking such basic ingredients as milk, cream,
and eggs and transforming them into a cool, luscious treat. Go traditional or try one of the more creative
combinations like Orange-Cardamom, Chai-spiced Milk Chocolate, Balsamic
Strawberry , Malted Vanilla with Peanut Brittle and Milk Chocolate, or Honey
Lavender. In addition, recipes are
included for Bi-Rite’s famed cakes, cookies, crusts, and sauces so you can
create custom frozen treats.
While you’re
waiting for your ice cream to churn, why not stay cool with a good book? The
Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street: a novel by Susan Jane Gilman tells
the story of a tenacious woman and an ice cream empire. In 1913, little Malka
Treynovsky flees Russia with her family, but not long after arriving in
America, she is crippled and abandoned by her parents. Taken in by an Italian
ices peddler, she learns the secrets of his trade and begins to shape her own
destiny. She transforms herself into Lillian Dunkle, “The Ice Cream Queen,” a
celebrated television personality with an empire of ice cream franchises.
Lillian’s rise to fame and fortune spans seventy years and is linked to the
course of American history, from Prohibition to the disco days of Studio 54.
But the conniving and profane Lillian Dunkle is nothing like the motherly
persona she has created for the media, and when her past begins to catch up
with her, her entire empire is at stake.
These books are available at Rowan Public Library, so
crank up the ice cream churn and settle down for a cool afternoon.
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