Once upon a time, in the days of Charles I of England, the king hosted a state feast for his friends and family.

The guests enjoyed many favorite foods of the time, but the cook, DeMirco, had concocted a new treat for them to enjoy. This treat was cold and creamy and delighted King Charles I.

He paid the cook 500 pounds a year to keep the recipe quiet, but after the king was beheaded in 1649, the secret of ice cream was made public. Soon, it was enjoyed by all the folk of England and around the world.

Since the late 1700s, ice cream has been an American favorite. Records show that in the summer of 1790, President George Washington spent about $200 on ice cream and owned two pewter ice cream pots.

Such a treat deserves its own day, even its own month.

Despite ice cream’s popularity, National Ice Cream month – July – and National Ice Cream day – today, the third Sunday of July – is not widely celebrated.

Local ice cream chains Dairy Queen and the Baskin-Robbins in Bowling Green aren’t planning any events to celebrate

According to the International Dairy Foods Association, the ice cream industry generates about $23 billion annually in sales.

Peggy Armstrong with the IDFA said, “Also, it provides jobs for thousands of citizens. About 8 percent of all the milk produced by U.S. dairy farmers is used to produce ice cream, contributing significantly to the economy and the dairy industry.”

Armstrong said that vanilla is the most popular because it can be topped with items like chocolate sauce and cherries and served with pies and cakes.

“Based on ice cream consumption figures from the NPD Group’s National Eating Trends Service, the top five individual flavors in terms of share of segment in the U.S. are: vanilla (30 percent), chocolate (10 percent), butter pecan (4 percent), strawberry (3.7 percent) and chocolate chip mint (3.2 percent),” Armstrong said.

Thanks to low-fat versions of ice cream, the recent health craze hasn’t cooled its popularity.

“Consumers can find an array of frozen desserts to fit specific dietary needs or wants, such as reduced-fat, fat-free, low-carb, ‘no sugar added,’ added calcium or lactose-free ice cream,” Armstrong said. “Novelty or single-serving products are also an important part of the trend, because some consumers prefer the prepackaged portion when counting calories, carbs or fat grams. However, most consumers are looking for an indulgence when eating ice cream, so manufacturers make sure to offer a full selection.”

Susan Vines of Glasgow said that her family eats a lot of ice cream in the warmer months.

“We eat it especially during the summer,” Vines said. “A cone or a bowl almost every evening because the kids are out playing all day and I’m working, it gets hot and we like to think we deserve a little treat at the end of the day. We like to get the low fat kind just to make ourselves feel better about eating so much of it.”