What You Always Wanted To Know About Ice Cream

Ice cream tasters tell us that, in addition to taste, it’s all about mouthfeel and texture.

Edy’s John Harrison was a legendary ice cream taster. His tastebuds were reputedly insured for $1 million:

Making Ice Cream

Some History

The year was 1944 and the place was a South Pacific Island. In addition to fighting a war, the commanding officer oversaw Operation Freeze. The goal was to give the troops some ice cream. Described by the BBC, they figured out how to make enough ice cream at 30,000 feet for 100 servicemen. They just had to mount a massive can of milk under a fighter plane’s wing tips. Then the propeller powered a stirring shaft and they used Army issued cocoa powder as the final touch.

Ben & Jerry began their ice cream business in Vermont because they believed the temperature of the ice cream in your body should be the same as the temperature outside. As for technology, their Toffee Bar crunch just needed a ladder and a vat. Dropping the candy bars from a predetermined height gave them the right sized chucks for the ice cream cones that they then sold in their converted gas station for 55 cents in 1978. They also tell us that their ice cream flavors were so intense because Ben had a sinus condition that made it tough for him to taste and smell anything.

Our Bottom Line: Ice Cream Demand

What?

In a YouGov survey vanilla (my favorite) came out on top:

Where?

The US 20.8 liter total is close to four gallons:

When?

India seems typical. In a World Business Report podcast, an ice cream industry executive said people are eating ice cream as a daily treat rather than just for special occasions. As a result, tear round ice cream consumption is up in India. But also, a Times of India news article tells us that soaring temperatures buoyed ice cream demand.

This not too scientific poll (sort of) confirms tour year-round concumption:

What?

We can almost hear the jingle when you think of your favorite truck treats:

So where are we? Looking at ice cream demand, as economists, we can see a slew of determinants including utility, many buyers, innovation, and complements that nudge demand upward. And we can see how tasters like John Harrison and Ben Cohen help to make it all possible.

My sources and more: Thanks to BBC’s World Business Report and this news article for alerting me to ice cream consumption in India. From there, this BBC article gave some ice cream history and here, some up-to-date facts that added to our previous look at ice cream economics. Then, YouGov had the surveys and finally, Delish had a good interview with Ben Cohen.