Ice-cream sales soar as heatwave continues

Visitors to the coast are flocking to ice-cream kiosks to cool off as the heatwave continues.
Amelia Fravigar putting the finishing touches to a salted caramel ice-cream at Seaside Treats in Tower Esplanade, Skegness.Amelia Fravigar putting the finishing touches to a salted caramel ice-cream at Seaside Treats in Tower Esplanade, Skegness.
Amelia Fravigar putting the finishing touches to a salted caramel ice-cream at Seaside Treats in Tower Esplanade, Skegness.

Two days after National Ice-cream Day business was still booming at one of the newest ice-cream kiosks on Tower Esplanade in Skegness.

A favourite flavour, honeycomb, had almost sold out at Seaside Treats on Tuesday - and staff member Amelia Fravigar said they had been busy all day.

National Ice-cream Day originates from the USA.

The holiday was created by an official proclamation by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. At the time, the holiday was supposed to be only celebrated once - on July 15, 1984. The ice cream industry, however, decided to continue the tradition every year since. In addition to observing a National Ice Cream Day, the proclamation also designated July as National Ice Cream Month. This too has now become a tradition.

Chinese Origin

Traditionally made by freezing a mixture of cream or milk, sugar, and some kind of flavoring, ice cream is often eaten after a meal as a dessert or as a mid-meal snack. As a treat, ice cream has a long and varied history, though very little is known about its origins. Some historians believed that the Chinese were responsible for inventing the earliest versions of this dessert, while others suggest that the Romans mixed snow with honey and fruits to create the first prototype of ice cream. Either way, the early types of ice cream were nothing like the ice cream we are familiar with today.

Only for Royals

In the old days before refrigerators became common kitchen equipment, ice cream was a food reserved for the royals and the rich and it was only eaten during special occasions. The development of refrigeration technology quickly made ice cream a commonly enjoyed dessert around the world. Today, people can easily make ice cream at home with the help of portable ice cream makers.