33 Flavors Day

Facts About 33 Flavors Day

Ice Cream Once Required Hand-Cranked Freezers  

Before electric freezers were common, American households relied on hand-cranked machines to make ice cream.

In 1843, Nancy Johnson patented a portable, hand-cranked freezer that used a metal canister surrounded by ice and salt, allowing the mixture to freeze evenly while being churned.

Her invention turned ice cream from a laborious luxury into something families could prepare at home and helped pave the way for the dessert’s later mass popularity.  

Industrial Ice Cream Began With a Baltimore Milk Dealer 

Commercial ice cream in the United States took off in 1851, when Baltimore milk dealer Jacob Fussell began manufacturing ice cream on a larger scale to use surplus cream.

By standardizing recipes and producing bigger batches, Fussell could sell ice cream more cheaply and consistently, transforming it from a special-occasion treat into a product that middle-class Americans could enjoy more regularly.  

The First Ice Cream Cones Were Popularized at the 1904 World’s Fair

While wafers and cones for holding ice cream existed earlier, the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair is widely credited with popularizing the ice cream cone in the United States.

Vendors who ran out of dishes reportedly turned to rolled waffles from neighboring stands to hold scoops, and the novelty caught on so quickly that cones became a permanent part of ice cream culture soon afterward.  

Overrun Can Double the Volume of Ice Cream With Air 

In industrial ice cream making, “overrun” is the amount of air whipped into the mix, and it can dramatically change the final product.

Premium brands typically have low overrun so the ice cream stays dense, while cheaper products can contain up to 100 percent overrun, meaning the volume has effectively doubled from added air alone. This air affects not only texture but also how strongly flavors are perceived on the tongue.

Fat Content Shapes Creaminess and Flavor Release

Ice cream is an emulsion of fat, water, sugar, and air, and its fat content is central to how it feels and tastes. U.S. standards require at least 10 percent milk fat for a product to be labeled ice cream, but many super-premium varieties go much higher.

Fat globules coat the tongue and slow melting, which enhances creaminess and can soften sharp flavors, giving complex varieties more rounded, lingering taste.  

Freezing Speed Controls Ice Crystal Size and Smoothness

The smooth texture of good ice cream depends on forming very small ice crystals. When the mixture is frozen quickly while being constantly agitated, crystals stay tiny and the product feels silky.

Slow freezing or repeated thawing and refreezing allows crystals to grow larger, which is why ice cream left in a warm freezer or repeatedly opened and closed often becomes icy and grainy.  

Baskin-Robbins Has Created More Than 1,300 Flavors 

Although its branding focuses on the “31 flavors” concept, Baskin-Robbins’ research and development teams have created more than 1,300 distinct ice cream flavors over the decades.

These range from classics like Pralines ‘n Cream to highly specific limited runs inspired by regional desserts, holidays, and pop culture tie-ins, illustrating how commercially made ice cream became a playground for constant flavor experimentation.