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Hot summer days are the best time to enjoy a cone filled with soft serve ice cream – and National Soft Ice Cream Day is perfectly timed for this celebration!

History of National Soft Ice Cream Day

Ice cream came into use centuries ago and was originally a luxurious dish for wealthy people. However, since it was invented, soft serve ice cream has always been an affordable treat for the average person.

When it was first invented in the 1930s, soft ice cream was well-loved by almost everyone. It was affordable, delicious and super convenient. And because it requires special machinery to make, soft ice cream inspires the community because everyone needs to head over to the ice cream stand or restaurant to get it.

One of the stories behind the invention of soft ice cream blames it all on a flat tire. The legend goes that, in 1934, an ice cream truck got a flat tire. When the ice cream began to melt, the driver sold the melting ice cream – and people loved it!

National Soft Ice Cream Day was founded to celebrate this simple, delightful treat and pay heed to the part it plays among families and friends.

How to Celebrate National Soft Ice Cream Day

What could be more fun than a day dedicated to ice cream? National Soft Ice Cream Day can be celebrated and enjoyed in a variety of ways, including these ideas:

Go Out for Some Soft Serve Ice Cream

Of course, the best thing to do in honor of National Soft Ice Cream Day is to head over to a local soft serve ice cream place and order up a twisty cone! Grab some friends or family members and take a little walk or drive to the closest soft serve stand.

Most soft serve places offer basic cones like vanilla, chocolate or even a vanilla and chocolate twist cone. Other fancier options include dipping a soft cone into chocolate or butterscotch topping. Colorful sprinkles are another fun way to enjoy soft ice cream!

Learn Fun Facts About Soft Ice Cream

Enjoy these fun bits of trivia and share them with friends or coworkers in celebration of National Soft Ice Cream Day:

  • Dairy Queen and Carvel both claim to have invented soft ice cream. Carvel says that they created the concoction in 1937 but, since Dairy Queen wasn’t started until 1938, it’s likely that Carvel was first.

  • Soft Ice Cream has less fat than regular ice cream. The amount of milk fat in soft serve is around 3-6% but regular ice cream fat levels are from 10-18%.

  • Margaret Thatcher worked with soft ice cream chemical formulas. Before she was in politics, the future Prime Minister of the UK was a chemist at a food manufacturer in Britain.

  • It’s the air that makes soft ice cream fluffy. As the machine freezes the soft serve mix, it is combined with quite a bit of air, creating a creamy and delicious frozen treat.

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