UBC Ice Cream Day event a screaming success

On July 18, 2019, almost 170 members of the UBC community gathered at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering to celebrate everyone’s favourite frozen treat: ice cream!

Why are some ice creams creamier than others? What is the difference between ice cream and soft serve? What are the most popular ice cream brands and flavours in Canada, and how healthy is the ice cream industry today? Attendees learned the answers to these and many other questions at UBC’s first Ice Cream Day event.

But that wasn’t all. After feeding their brains, participants witnessed (and tasted the results of) a dramatic live demonstration of ice cream being made with liquid nitrogen. They also sampled the delectable creations of two of Vancouver’s leading artisanal ice cream shops: Rain or Shine and Elephant Garden Creamery, who presented their origin stories and business and food philosophies at the event. 

In the United States, July is National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday in July is National Ice Cream Day. Although Ronald Reagan's original ice cream proclamation — which “call[ed] upon the people of the United States to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities” — was limited to July of 1984, celebrations have continued ever since.

The UBC Ice Cream Day event was a collaboration between UBC Applied Science, UBC Land and Food Systems and the Sauder School of Business. We thank the presenters, including John Frostad (CHBE/LFS) and Ann Stone (Sauder), and all the attendees for making it such a success.

More images from the event are available in the UBC Celebrates: Ice Cream Day photo album.