July is national ice cream month because in 1984, president Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month. Ice cream was likely brought from China back to Europe. Over time, recipes for ices, sherbets and milk ices evolved and served in the fashionable Italian and French royal courts. After the dessert was imported to the United States, it was served by famous Americans. In 1846, Nancy Johnson patented a hand-cranked freezer that established the basic method of making ice cream still used today. William Young patented the similar “John Patent Ice-Cream Freezer” in 1848. The first cream parlor in America opened in New York City in 1776. American colonists were the first to use the term “ice cream.” The name came from the phrase “iced cream” that was similar to “iced tea.” The name was later abbreviated to “ice cream” the name we know today.