July 23: Vanilla Ice Cream Day

Eating ice cream too fast causes what’s known as brain freeze or an ice cream headache. The nerve center that is located above the roof of the mouth reacts to the cold by dilating the blood vessels in your head. Cure this by placing your tongue on the roof of your mouth to warm the nerve center and speed up recovery.

Vanilla ice cream isn’t credited to a single inventor, but several countries had their own recipes. The first documented use of ice cream or its variant came from Alexander the Great, who reigned in 336 B.C. to 323 B.C. He ordered treats of flavored ice with fruit and honey toppings. Only the rich and privileged could have this treat because it required access to specially designed cellars underground. Arabs used sherbet, made of ice and sugary syrup, to cool body temperature and heal the sick.

The origins of ice cream, made of ice and milk, were in China. Marco Polo discovered the recipe for creamed ice from Kublai Khan (1214-1294) when he visited China during the 13th century. He brought this recipe to Italy, and this formula spread throughout the world. It first emerged in France, and then England; each country modified the recipe along the way. Mexico first exported vanilla to Asia and Africa during the 16th century, and vanilla soon became one of the flavors used in ice cream.

Original vanilla and French vanilla are the two distinguished types of vanilla ice cream. Both use vanilla beans, but French vanilla uses a custard base of egg yolks in the recipe, giving the ice cream a darker hue and floral fragrance. Credit for the French vanilla recipe comes from France, and Thomas Jefferson is credited with bringing this recipe to the United States. Original vanilla ice cream recipes use vanilla with cream and sugar, whereas some recipes in the French style use butter instead of cream.

Read some interesting facts about vanilla at http://www.ice-cream-recipes.com/about_vanilla.htm

http://www.ehow.com/about_4728539_vanilla-ice-cream.html