5 Myths About Ice Cream by Carpigiani UK

There are many myths and assumptions regarding ice cream consumption in the UK. Here are some facts that you might find surprising!

Ice Cream Myths 1: Ice Cream is for Children

If you take the volume of ice cream bought and eaten in the UK and average it amongst the whole population it equates to 7 litres of ice cream per person in the UK. Ladies and Gents, young and old all enjoy ice cream. A recent survey found that in the UK, male adults are the most likely to order ice cream as a dessert during a meal.

Ice Cream Myth 2: The Cold Weather Affects Sales

With typical British weather during the Summer months, you might expect the UK ice cream sales to be affected. However, ice cream sales do not seem to be affected by cold weather. Scotland, which some might argue have colder weather than the rest of the UK, eat more ice cream, on average than anywhere else in the British Isles. Finland, another country with colder weather than the UK, eat twice as much ice cream per capita, than the UK. Many soft serve ice cream vans have bumper sales in November (normally around Fireworks night) and October (Halloween events). The UK loves ice cream all-year-around and any weather.

Ice Cream Myth 3: All Ice Cream is the Same

As well as the many flavours available, the mix of cream and other ingredients used in the making of ice cream means that each batch of ice cream is unique, rather than “the same”.

Have you ever wondered around a European city and marvelled at the range of ice cream flavours available in the commercial ice cream parlours, and wondered why we don’t have similar establishments in the UK? You might be surprised to learn that we have some of the best gelato and ice cream parlours here in the UK, and the number is growing fast.

Ice cream professionals often referred to as “Artisans” were traditionally makers of ice cream by who made ice cream by hand. The higher the skill level of the Artisan, the higher the quality and consistency of their produce.

Nowadays, a professional ice cream maker will use the best Gelato ice cream equipment and soft serve ice cream machines to produce their wares, rather than mixing by hand. Although, the mixing and production of high-quality and consistent ice cream is much easier – deciding on imaginative flavours and combinations is still an art form.

Some of the users of Carpigiani’s ice cream equipment in the UK have reported flavour creations of “pina colada”, “chilli”, “Guinness” and even “black pudding”. Still, the UK favourite flavour is “vanilla” (around 25% of sales are one-flavour vanilla sales).

Ice Cream Myth 4: Ice Cream is Unhealthy

As with all foods, too much of anything is not good for you. As mentioned above, all ice cream is NOT the same. The amount of milk or cream or other ingredients, as well as the volume of air blended into the mixture, make the taste and consistency unique. This means that different batches can have different nutritional values, however in the main, ice cream contains only around 5% fat and is full of protein. Most ice cream mixtures contain more protein (by weight) than milk itself.

Ice Cream Myth 5: Ice Cream Makes You Feel Better

Actually, research has shown that this is true!

We have all seen the films where the main character has had a bad day or a relationship has ended and they sit on the sofa with a tub of ice cream and a spoon. Children are often given ice cream in hospital to make them feel better after an operation.

Neuroscientists at the Institute of Psychiatry in London analysed the brain of people when they were eating ice cream. They noted an immediate impact on the part of the brain known to activate when people enjoy themselves; these include the orbitofrontal cortex, the “processing” area at the front of the brain.