A big thanks to everyone who took a shot at answering our true and false trivia questions from last week. As promised, we chose three people at random from those who got all 10 questions correct to win some free Turkey Hill ice cream. Congrats Sheila, Carol and Anna! Below are the answers to the quiz. We promise next month’s edition will be shorter!
1. The most popular and best selling flavor of ice cream in the nation is chocolate.
ANSWER: False. The most popular flavor in the nation is… anyone? That’s right, vanilla!
2. The Turkey Hill Giant Cow lives up to its name by standing 19 feet tall and weighing in at over 5,000 pounds!
ANSWER: False. She’s big, but she’s not that big. In reality, she stands 13 feet tall and weighs 3,500 pounds.
3. Despite the economic recession, national sales of ice cream actually increased in 2009, rising 1.5 percent as Americans found comfort in their favorite dessert.
ANSWER: True. Other comfort foods, like potato chips, also experience sales increases during a recession. No word on whether the macaroni and cheese folks are doing the same. (We also accepted false for this question because some of you thought we were being tricky with the 1.5 percent statistic when you found a source that said ice cream sales were up 2 percent.)
4. Even though they sound alike, sorbet is different from sherbet because sorbet contains no dairy products while sherbet can contain one to two percent milkfat.
ANSWER: True. And remember, it’s pronounced “sher-bit”, not “sher-bert”!
5. National Ice Cream Month in July was created by former president Jimmy Carter in 1976 as part of America’s bicentennial celebration.
ANSWER: False. America owes its month long devotion to ice cream to President Ronald Reagan, who established the celebration in 1984.
6. French vanilla ice cream contains egg yolks, which traditional vanilla ice cream does not.
ANSWER: True. The eggs give the French vanilla its sometimes yellow color and a little extra creaminess.
7. Immigrants at Ellis Island were served ice cream as part of the welcoming to America.
ANSWER: True. We’re not sure what the flavor was. Hopefully not Rocky Road!
8. Pat Bertoletti, a culinary student from Chicago, holds the world record for ice cream consumption by eating 1.75 GALLONS of ice cream in just 8 minutes during a contest in 2006.
ANSWER: True. The resulting brain freeze lasted two years and 237 days.
9. You can purchase all sorts of sports-themed stuff in Turkey Hill’s online store, including golf balls, baseballs, footballs and hockey pucks.
ANSWER: False. There are no hockey pucks in the Turkey Hill store… yet.
10. The first ice cream parlor in America opened in Philadelphia in 1776.
ANSWER: False. The honor of hosting the first ice cream parlor in America goes to New York City (in 1776).
If you’ve got a technical question about the ice cream making process or some other inquiry about the nuances of America’s favorite treat, chances are Ernie has the answer. He might not be able to answer all questions, but he’ll try his best and some may be featured on the Ice Cream Journal.