George Washington, not Ben & Jerry's, made ice cream popular in America By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.28.17 Word Count 917 Level 1050L Two girls enjoy an ice cream treat on a hot summer day. Photo by: JGI/Jamie Grill/Getty Images Our Founding Fathers probably had no idea that they helped create a nation of ice cream lovers. Many 18th-century foods, such as eel pie, have disappeared. Ice cream, however, remains a dominant force. Even in times of political strife, Americans are united in their love of ice cream. The average American devours 48 pints per year. The country spends about $10 billion on frozen treats each year. Washington's Giant Ice Cream-Making Set We can thank George Washington for America's early interest in the treat. Known for his sweet tooth, Washington was hooked when he got his first taste of ice cream in the late 18th century. It's believed Washington may have been introduced to ice cream by Norborne Berkeley, who was the royal governor of Virginia between 1768 and 1770. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1
The first couple bought pricey ice cream-making equipment. They served the dessert at parties in New York City and Philadelphia. A list of ice cream-related kitchenware includes a 309-piece set with 12 "ice plates" and 36 "ice pots" from the Washington's estate at Mount Vernon. During the early years of our country, though, ice cream was reserved for the elite. Most Americans had never heard of it. Still, food trends had a way of catching on, even long before Instagram. Thomas Jefferson, who first tasted ice cream in France, brought the first ice cream recipe to the United States. The ingredients were simple: six egg yolks, a half-pound of sugar, two bottles of good cream and one vanilla bean. However, cooks had to go through an 18-step process and use a little muscle. Long before the ice cream maker was invented, Jefferson recommended making a "sorbetiere." The contraption consisted of a covered pail with a handle that needed to be churned by hand in the ice for 10 minutes. Then it would be put in a mold to set. Jefferson had ice houses built at Monticello in 1802 to preserve perishable foods such as butter. He liked to have ingredients on hand to make ice cream. Oyster-Flavored Ice Cream, Anyone? Modern-day chefs are not the first to get creative with ice cream flavors. First Lady Dolley Madison had a taste for extreme flavors two centuries ago. One of her favorites was ice cream made with oysters. She toned things down a bit for her husband's second inaugural ball by serving plain ice cream with strawberries. Unfortunately, milky desserts could be dangerous in the days before pasteurization. Today, dairy products are pasteurized, which means they are heated to a high temperature for a few seconds in order to kill bacteria. Historians still argue about whether President Zachary Taylor died after gorging on ice milk and frozen cherries during a Fourth of July party in 1850. But thankfully, a few inventions made ice cream safer and more convenient in the early 20th century. Better refrigeration meant less spoilage. And the truck eventually replaced the horsedrawn wagon for distribution. Another new ice cream delivery system, the waffle cone, hit the scene at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, although there's still a debate about who should get credit for it. Ice cream even became part of the welcome for newcomers to the United States. Immigrants who landed on Ellis Island were often given a scoop during their first meal upon arrival. However, sometimes this gesture of goodwill backfired. In 1902, several immigrants arriving from Italy were alarmed by the strange temperature of this food and asked for it to be "warmed up," according to the New York Times. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2
An Alternative To Alcohol During Prohibition Passion for ice cream reached a new peak during the Prohibition years when the United States outlawed alcohol. Many people traded alcohol for ice cream. In 1920, our nation's first year without legalized alcohol, consumers wolfed down 260 million gallons of ice cream. The modern era only increased our national devotion to frozen treats, and American presidents continued to do their part. In 1969, on the way to a meeting with South Vietnam's President Nguyen Van Thieu, President Richard M. Nixon visited Hawaii. He became obsessed with macadamia nut ice cream. Nixon asked to have a three-gallon pack sent by air to the White House. He had another three-gallon pack sent from Hawaii 10 months later when he went to award the Apollo 13 astronauts the Medal of Freedom. In the following years, the Cold War lingered, and so did the presidential interest in frozen desserts. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan declared July as National Ice Cream Month. The Politics Of Ice Cream Three decades later, Vice President Joe Biden seemed to make ice cream eating a patriotic duty. Biden recently had a flavor named after him at Cornell University. He proudly declared his ice cream addiction to the owners of Penny Creamery in Santa Cruz, California, in 2010. "I am a genuine lover of ice cream," he said. "I don't drink. I don't smoke. But I eat a lot of ice cream." There's even a connection between political parties and flavors. Republicans tend to favor chocolate, and Democrats usually prefer vanilla, according to a 2011 Harris Poll. President Donald Trump apparently loves cherry vanilla, and he orders two scoops of ice cream for his pies, while his guests are expected to be content with just one. He also has an ice cream parlor named after himself in Trump Tower. In these heated political times, cooling down with a cone has never been a better idea. And that's something most of us can agree on. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3
Quiz 1 Which section of the article highlights the idea that ice cream has changed over time to become more accessible? (A) Introduction [paragraphs 1-2] "Washington's Giant Ice Cream-Making Set" "Oyster-Flavored Ice Cream, Anyone?" "An Alternative To Alcohol During Prohibition" 2 Which piece of evidence BEST supports the idea that people often turned to ice cream to replace other vices in their lives? (A) In 1920, our nation's first year without legalized alcohol, consumers wolfed down 260 million gallons of ice cream. The modern era only increased our national devotion to frozen treats, and American presidents continued to do their part. In the following years, the Cold War lingered, and so did the presidential interest in frozen desserts. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan declared July as National Ice Cream Month. 3 Which two of the following sentences from the article contain CENTRAL ideas? 1. Even in times of political strife, Americans are united in their love of ice cream. 2. We can thank George Washington for America's early interest in the treat. 3. Modern-day chefs are not the first to get creative with ice cream flavors. 4. Unfortunately, milky desserts could be dangerous in the days before pasteurization. (A) 1 and 2 1 and 3 2 and 4 3 and 4 This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4
4 The CENTRAL idea of the article is developed by: (A) showing the popularity of ice cream over time by using statistics comparing the differences between ice cream in the 18th century and today explaining the various presidents and processes that helped make ice cream famous tracing the chronological history of ice cream and how it has been improved over time This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5