Two men are credited with inventing and popularizing the ice cream cone in this country.

ice cream cone photo

Go get a scoop and celebrate National Ice Cream Cone Day!

 

 

September 22 is National Ice Cream Cone Day!  Is one day really enough to celebrate this classic dessert that is loved by children and adults alike?  The ice cream cone is a perfect, portable treat.  It’s great on a hot summer day but many people don’t think twice about eating one in the winter.

The ice cream cone was created on two separate occasions by two men and we’re thankful to them!  The first cone was invented in New York City in 1896 by Italian immigrant Italo Marchiony.  He was granted a patent for his invention in December 1903.

Meanwhile, at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, the ice cream cone came about again in a different way.  Food vendor Ernest A. Hamwi had his Syrian food booth right next to an ice cream vendor.  The ice cream was so popular that the vendor eventually ran out of dishes.  Hamwi was selling zalabis, a thin, waffle-like pastry and got the idea to roll them into a cone while still warm for serving the ice cream.  Both vendors were happy and the ice cream cone was a huge hit.

Because St. Louis was a metal-work town, some enterprising people came up with machinery to make ice cream cones, bringing the product to a much wider audience and fueling the sales of ice cream.  And if it wasn’t for the ice cream scoop, invented by William Clewell in 1878, it would have been a lot harder to serve up all those scoops!

Celebrate National Ice Cream Cone Day with a scoop or two today!

Photo by TheCulinaryGeek