If you’re slurping an ice cream on World Ice Cream Day you’re in good company with King Tang of Shang, Marco Polo, Nero and Ronald Reagan.
With temperatures in the UK the hottest for 45 years ago ice cream vans are doing a roaring business.
China ices
Our favourite cool treat dates variously back to ancient China, Greece and Rome.
But it is now a truly global obsession which should be on your to do list when on holiday.
Here’s some of the best to mark World Ice Cream Day:
Made in Japan
Mochi ice cream, Japan: And the adventurous among the Olympic athletes in Tokyo will be digging into Mochi.
As we are with Little Moons Creamy Coconut and Passionfruit & Mango mochi desserts, drawing in 45 million TikTok followers.
The Tesco mochi bites are gluten free. You wrap blue-sized balls of gelato in soft mochi dough.
Na-na-na
Banana Split, USA: One banana, two banana, three banana, four… the sundae which spawned a cult kids’ TV show and punk anthem.
We owe it all to 23-year-old Pittsburgh pharmacist David Strickler for giving us…
The Banana Split… a scoop of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate nestled between a sliced banana with cream, chopped nuts and a cherry.
And the Pittsburghers have honoured David with a statue and plaque.
Gelato spirit
Gelato, Italy: And I know the burning question you’re asking while you burn: how is a gelato different from an ice cream?
I’m indebted here to website Healthline for filling us in… and what I took from them is that there’s more air and milk in a gelato.
Anywhere in Italy is good to eat gelato but I’m channeling my inner Nero in the Eternal City.
Yes, with a tang in it
Tang, China: Yes, ice cream with a tang.
Ice cream is said to date back to 200BC (Before Cornettos?) when a milk and rice mixture was frozen by packing it in snow.
Tang, who reigned from 1675-1646, had 94 ice men help to make a dish of buffalo milk, flour and camphor.
Porty time
99, Scotland: And who would have thought our little corner of Scotland gave us the 99.
Our old homestead of Portobello, Edinburgh’s town beach, spawned the 99.
When Stefano Arcari broke a flake and inserted it into the ice cream at his shop in 99 Portobello High Street.
Next year is the centenary of his breaking of flake… just saying!
Reagan’s scoop
And as for World Ice Cream Day we have former US President Ronald Reaganj to thank.
The Gipper championed Ice Cream Day in 1984 and it just snowballed after that.