Just about everyone agrees that ice cream is the quintessential summer dessert. But our love of the treat goes beyond that. A 2015 Yahoo! survey revealed that ice cream is America’s favorite dessert, regardless of the time of year. It’s estimated that, on average, we eat twenty-three pounds of the frozen fare each year—that’s about the same weight as a car tire. We just can’t get enough of it.

From the history that seems as old as the country itself to the nostalgia we feel visiting ice-cream shops across the land to the ingenuity that’s constantly on the menu, there are many reasons why we really do beam about ice cream.

Ice Cream’s Sweet History

• The truth is, we don’t know exactly where or when ice cream was first created; it largely depends on what’s considered ice cream. Records from thousands of years ago describe flavored ice treats, including from ancient China. It’s thought that Marco Polo then brought the recipe to Europe in the 1200s, where it was largely a treat for royalty.

  In 1686, the first café opened in Paris, and it hosted politicians and other dignitaries from around the world. It was there that the first sorbet was served, which helped spread the word about iced treats across the Atlantic. In the New World, the first known record of ice cream was from a Maryland governor’s party in 1744. Even the nation’s founding fathers didn’t escape its lure: George Washington was reported to have spent a whopping $200 on ice cream in 1790—that’s approximately $5,600 today! Thomas Jefferson, another ice-cream connoisseur, was said to have had multiple ice houses in Monticello so he could make it at will. Jefferson is also believed to be the first American to jot down an ice-cream recipe.

  Pennsylvania became a notable state for ice-cream history in the nineteenth century. In 1843, Philadelphian Nancy M. Johnson revolutionized the industry when she patented her artificial freezer method of making ice cream, which streamlined the process. Eight years later, a Baltimore businessman named Jacob Fussell built an ice-cream factory in York County, Pennsylvania, from which he shipped his product to his home state. And just like that, the commercial ice-cream industry was born. The nation’s oldest ice-cream company, Bassetts Ice Cream in Philadelphia, which opened in 1861, is still churning out its products to this day.

Ice Cream around America

• Over the past century, ice cream has become widely known as an all-American treat. Today, you can find ice-cream shops in virtually every town in every state. Many still offer time-tested classic treats that have been popular for decades while also providing innovative flavors. Here are just some of the country’s cream of the crop ice-cream shops.

  

  • Doumar’s (Norfolk, VA) Even though this place may not have as many flavors as others on this list, it holds the distinction of creating the waffle cone in 1904—and it still hand-rolls these cones today.

  • Martha’s Dandee Creme (Queensbury, NY) Founded in 1947, Martha’s is famous for its towering, delectable ice-cream cones, which are as much feats of gravity as they are testaments to the creamy flavors they hold.

  

  • Graeter’s Ice Cream (Cincinnati, OH) Known for its French Pot freezers, which create a denser frozen dessert, this creamery has branched out to several Midwest locations since opening in 1870.

  • Angelo Brocato Ice Cream (New Orleans, LA) Renowned for its gelato since 1905, this Louisiana shop uses generations-old Sicilian recipes, as well as local and Italian ingredients, to make its exquisite treats distinctive.

  

  • Wild Scoops (Anchorage, AK) Ice cream—in Alaska? It exists, and it’s worth getting a taste at Wild Scoops, thanks to its use of locally sourced ingredients like lingonberry and birch-coated walnuts.

  • Fentons Creamery (Oakland, CA) Having opened a mere three years after Bassetts, in 1894, Fentons is a West Coast ice-cream institution with signature flavors like Toasted Almond and Swiss Milk Chocolate.

Beyond the Cone

• When people think of ice cream, they usually picture a few perfectly round scoops of vanilla, chocolate, or mint-chocolate chip in a cone or bowl. However, one of the incredible things about ice cream is its versatility. With a little ingenuity in the kitchen, creameries can make the treat with unique flavors or without dairy and even combine it with other treats—as the places below demonstrate so deliciously.

  

  • The Parlor Ice Cream (Sacramento, CA) The most sought-after item on this popular West Coast shop’s menu is the Ice-Cream Puff, an amazing concoction in which ice cream of your choice is placed inside a hot doughnut. Similarly, B Sweet in Los Angeles sells its own version called the Halo.

  • The Yard Milkshake Bar (Gulf Coast; Atlanta, GA; Virginia Beach, VA) Despite its name, this business—which was featured on Shark Tank—also specializes in over-the-top ice-cream sundaes served in a jar, each with toppings like a doughnut, a whole banana, or an entire cupcake.

  • Jeni’s (Various locations) With over a dozen scoop shops from DC to LA, plus products in grocery stores nationwide, you may have heard of Jeni’s. Included in its offerings is a line of dairy-free products featuring flavors like Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns and Lemon Bar.

  

  • Clementine’s Naughty and Nice Creamery (Saint Louis, MO) As its name implies, this business, which has stores throughout the Saint Louis area, offers alcohol-infused and nonalcoholic flavors of its ice cream. In addition, it’s dedicated to a zero-waste philosophy.

  • Amy’s Ice Creams (Austin/Houston/San Antonio, TX) This Lone Star State staple is known not only for its variety (with over 350 rotating flavors throughout the year) but also its signature Mexican Vanilla ice cream, which is made with a Madagascar vanilla bean-Mexican orchid hybrid.

  • Purple Door Ice Cream (Milwaukee, WI) Thanks to an endless array of flavors like Balsamic Vinegar, Earl Grey with Biscuit Bits, and Brandy Old-Fashioned, this business in the heart of dairy country has been voted a four-time winner for best local food product.