How to make tasty pumpkin ice cream at home
While the idea of pumpkin ice cream seems at odds with the cozy sentiments of fall, it’s a fact that this creamy seasonal treat is ever popular in the United States whenever the leaves are turning golden brown. That’s not surprising, because Americans love their ice cream. So much so that in 1984, President Ronald Reagan declared July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of July as National Ice Cream Day. According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), the average American eats around 22 pounds of ice cream annually, and 74% of the population has ice cream at least once a week.
What is America’s favorite ice cream flavor?
To match the staggering demand for ice cream, U.S. manufacturers churn out more than 1.3 billion gallons of it every year. And that figure doesn’t include homemade ice cream. Of course, everyone has their favorite flavor, but there are general trends. In 2022, an IDFA survey found that cookies n’ cream is America’s most popular selling ice cream, followed by vanilla, chocolate, mint chocolate chip, and strawberry flavor. Pumpkin doesn’t rank in the top 10 flavors. Though that isn't surprising, as while most major brands have their own spin on pumpkin ice cream, it's marketed as a seasonal item, so it's not on sale all the time.
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What does pumpkin ice cream taste like?
Whether or not you enjoy the flavor of pumpkin ice cream obviously depends on your palate. Pumpkin itself has an earthy, vaguely sweet taste (unless you’re unlucky and get a bitter one) which tends to need other ingredients to make it palatable. And essentially, that’s the key when it comes to pumpkin ice cream, which relies on things like pumpkin spice mix, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, condensed milk, and maple syrup for flavor and sweetness. And whether shop-bought or homemade, it’s truly a love-it-or-hate-it kind of dessert.
If you're the DIY type of ice cream lover, watch the video above to see how you can make this seasonal treat without an ice cream maker.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to make creamy pumpkin ice cream
