Ice cream parlors (

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...

) or ice cream parlours (

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...

) are places that sell

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

gelato Gelato (; ) is the common word in Italian for all kinds of ice cream. In English, it specifically refers to a frozen dessert of Italian origin. Artisanal gelato in Italy generally contains 6%–9% butterfat, which is lower than other styles o ...

, sorbet, and/or frozen yogurt to consumers. Ice cream is typically sold as regular ice cream (also called hard-packed or hard serve ice cream), and/or soft serve, which is usually dispensed by a machine with a limited number of flavors (e.g.,

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

, and "twist", or "zebra", a mix of the two). Ice cream parlors generally offer a number of flavors and items. Parlors often serve ice cream and other frozen desserts in cones, cups or dishes, the latter two to be eaten with a spoon. Some ice cream parlors prepare ice cream desserts such as

sundae A sundae () is an ice cream dessert of American origin that typically consists of one or more scoops of ice cream topped with sauce or syrup and in some cases other toppings such as: sprinkles, whipped cream, marshmallows, peanuts, maraschino ...

s (ice cream topped with syrup, whipped cream and other toppings) or

milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, fruit syrup, or whole fruit into a thick, sweet, cold mixture ...

s, or even a blend (known as a Boston shake).

History

While the origins of ice cream are often debated, most scholars trace the first ice cream parlor back to France in the 17th century. In 1686, Francesco Procopio del Coltelli opened Paris' first café. The

Café Procope The Café Procope in the Rue de l'Ancienne Comédie is a café in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was opened in 1686 by the Sicilian chef Procopio Cutò (also known by his Italian name Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli and his French name Fran ...

, named by its Sicilian founder, introduced gelato to the French public. The dessert was served to its elite guests in small porcelain bowls. Until 1800, ice cream remained a rare and exotic dessert enjoyed mostly by the elite. The introduction of insulated ice houses in 1800, the first ice cream factory in Pennsylvania in 1851, and industrial refrigeration in the 1870s made manufacturing and storing ice cream much simpler. The first ice cream factory was built by Jacob Fussell, a milk dealer who bought dairy products from Philadelphia farmers and sold them in Baltimore. The mass production of ice cream cut the product's cost significantly, making it more popular and more affordable for people of lower classes. In the early 1800s, an early form of a U.S. ice cream parlor was existent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that sold "all kinds of refreshments, as Ice Cream, Syrups, French Cordials, Cakes, Clarets of the best kind, Jellies, etc." According to one source, the first U.S. ice cream parlor opened in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1790.

Product overview

Gelato Gelato (; ) is the common word in Italian for all kinds of ice cream. In English, it specifically refers to a frozen dessert of Italian origin. Artisanal gelato in Italy generally contains 6%–9% butterfat, which is lower than other styles o ...

is a type of Italian ice cream with more milk and less cream than American ice cream. Sorbet is a frozen treat made from fruit, syrup and ice. No milk or cream is used. Frozen yogurt is a common low-fat ice cream alternative with a smooth texture that is similar to soft serve ice cream. All of these frozen products may be sold in

ice cream cone An ice cream cone, poke (Ireland/Scotland) or cornet (England) is a brittle, cone-shaped pastry, usually made of a wafer similar in texture to a waffle, made so ice cream can be carried and eaten without a bowl or spoon, for example, the Hong Kon ...

s, cups,

s, and

s. Some parlors may also sell ice cream cakes,

ice cream bar An ice cream bar is a frozen dessert on a stick or a candy bar that has ice cream in it. The coating is usually a thin layer of chocolate used to prevent the melting and dripping of ice cream. This is also known in the UK as a Choc ice. The ice ...

s and other pre-packaged frozen sweets. In addition to frozen dessert products, some modern ice cream parlors also sell a variety of hot

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...

s. File:Italian-parlour.jpg, An Italian ice cream parlor with varieties of gelato (ice cream) File:English-parlour.jpg, An English ice cream parlor with varieties of traditional ice cream

Types

Parlors vary in terms of size and environment. Some only have an order window and outside seating, while others have complete indoor facilities. Some parlors have drive-through windows. There are even parlors that combine several of these methods. Some parlors remain open all year round, typically in warmer weather locations and urban areas, and others in colder climates stay open only during warmer months, particularly from March to November. For example, some ice cream parlors in Vienna, Austria close in the winter months. Some ice cream parlors in Moscow, Russia, offer alcoholic beverages along with ice cream.

Ice cream parlor chains

Because ice cream parlors are located throughout the world, there are both small, local franchises as well as large, global enterprises. Some of the most notable large, global ice cream parlors include Baskin-Robbins,

Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream p ...

, Bruster's Ice Cream, Carvel,

Cold Stone Creamery Cold Stone Creamery is an American international ice cream parlor chain. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company is owned and operated by Kahala Brands. The company's main product is premium ice cream made with approximately 12–14% bu ...

, Dairy Queen, Dippin' Dots,

Friendly's Friendly's is a restaurant chain on the East Coast of the United States. Friendly's was founded in 1935 in Springfield, Massachusetts, by the brothers S. Prestley Blake and Curtis Blake. It has 10,000 employees; George Michel is the CEO. It offe ...

, and

Häagen-Dazs Häagen-Dazs ( , ) is an American ice cream brand, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in The Bronx, New York, in 1960. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, Ne ...

Yogurtland Yogurtland is an American international frozen yogurt franchise headquartered in  Irvine, California, United States. Yogurtland provides self-serve frozen yogurt with active cultures, as well as other frozen desserts such as ice cream, sorbe ...

Yogen Früz Yogen Früz is a Canadian chain of frozen yogurt and smoothie stores that also serves healthy alternative food products. The chain is run through company-owned, franchised, and non-traditional partnerships. The chain operates worldwide and has bee ...

, and sweetFrog are notable frozen yogurt parlors. Just as the size, style, and selection within each ice cream parlor may differ, so may its notoriety. Each July in the United States, in honor of

National Ice Cream Month In the United States, National Ice Cream Month is celebrated each year in July, and National Ice Cream Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in July. The celebrations were originated by Joint resolution 298 in the United States Senate, which was ...

, several prominent publications rank the popularity of ice cream parlors throughout the United States. In 2014, Travel + Leisure, National Geographic, Business Insider, Food & Wine, and TripAdvisor published their top ranked ice cream parlors. * Travel + Leisure: America's Best Ice Cream Shops * National Geographic: Top 10 Places to Eat Ice Cream * Business Insider: The 10 Best Ice Cream Shops In The US, According To Pinterest Users * Food & Wine: Best Ice Cream Spots in the U.S. * TripAdvisor: Best ice cream parlors in the US, ranked by TripAdvisor users

References

External links