Dairy Queen doesn't serve ice cream.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that ice cream contain at least 10 percent milkfat. At just 5 percent milkfat, Dairy Queen's frozen treats aren't ice cream. They call it soft serve.
Dairy Queen began serving soft serve in 1940, building on a recipe developed by John Fremont McCullough and his son Alex in 1938. Sources differ on soft serve's origins: Tom Carvel stumbled upon the concept in 1934 when his ice cream truck broke down, leading him to develop a soft serve machine and open his first store in 1936. A few years later, in 1938, the McCulloughs perfected their soft serve recipe, using existing freezer technology later patented by Harry Oltz in 1939. Years earlier, Charles E. Taylor patented a continuous ice cream freezer in 1926 (U.S. Patent No. 1,606,781), later known as the Taylor Freezer, which became foundational for soft serve machines and influenced Carvel's operations.
A popular but debunked story links Margaret Thatcher to soft serve. After earning her chemistry degree at Oxford in 1947, Margaret Roberts (later Thatcher) worked at J. Lyons & Company from 1949 to 1951, where she contributed to research on emulsifiers to improve ice cream texture. While this work involved aeration techniques, soft serve had already been developed in the U.S. by the 1930s. The British chain Mr. Whippy, founded in 1958, popularized soft serve in the UK using existing methods, not Thatcher's research, despite media claims dubbing her the, mother of soft serve.,
Soft serve has become a summer staple due to its refreshing, creamy texture, affordability, and association with ice cream trucks and outdoor events, a tradition that continues in 2025 with chains like Dairy Queen serving millions annually. While beloved, it's distinct from ice cream due to its lower milkfat content.
