The US President Who Helped Popularize Vanilla Ice Cream With Their Classic Recipe

Ice cream first arrived in the United States in the mid 1700s, but in the years following the American Revolution, it still hadn't yet achieved its status as an iconic U.S. dessert. Thomas Jefferson was actually the first American to record the recipe, and he has gone down in the history books for his pioneering documentation. In 1784, Jefferson took a congressional position abroad in France, and spent a great deal of his time there exploring the country's appreciation for foods and drinks. He was clearly a man ahead of his time in his appreciation of all things gustatory, and may just have been the precursor to what we would today call a foodie.

During his time in France, Jefferson learned about ice cream "freising molds" and had them brought back to his Monticello home so that he could indulge his interest in this creamy, cold treat. During his presidency, there were accounts of him repeatedly serving ice cream (which was also served in a warm crust) and he even went so far as having a servant churn it throughout the day to celebrate Independence Day. By embracing this frozen novelty, he certainly made it fashionable and inspired future fans to open ice cream shops in every state.

Our third president had passions for a lot of topics, but his interest in what was considered fine dining and wine appreciation may have been near the top of the list. Thomas Jefferson lauded English peas as his favorite vegetable, and they were a staple of his Monticello garden. The president's favorite desserts were Monticello muffins and the controversial drunken wine loaf — a French bread soaked in wine and topped with macaroni and cheese. He even dabbled in food and nutrition trends that were unheard of at the time, such as adopting a more vegetable-forward diet, and he was also one of the first people to cultivate tomatoes in the U.S., which were previously thought to be poisonous.

French vanilla ice cream is the Jefferson-approved sweet dish that has become firmly entrenched in Americana. There is hardly a warm summer's day in the United States that goes by without nearby children happily enjoying vanilla ice cream cones. If all this talk of vanilla ice cream has you ready to try your hand at making it at home, be sure to use real vanilla to get that fresh-from-the-creamery taste, or opt for a quick fix at the grocery store with one of these top-rated vanilla ice creams.