Is this why a 99 ice cream is called a 99?

In a world where people’s attitude to food is often the fancier the better, sometimes you have to get back to basics.

Seriously, on a hot summer’s day what can beat a 99 with a flake? Exactly.

A national favourite, it’s remained a staple in a time when you can get French pate ice cream and avocado sorbet but how much do you actually know about it?

Why, for example, do we all universally know what it means to ask for a 99? Well, it turns out, there are multiple theories.

According to one school of thought, the ice cream type got its name after a shop owner in Edinburgh called the desert after the number of his shop in 1922 and it caught on from there.

Another theory is that the ice cream became a dedication to a group of Italian ice cream sellers, the i Ragazzi del ‘99 or the Boys of ‘99, who were sent to fight in the First World War. According to various accounts, the soldiers had to wear brown feathers that poked out of their tall hats and this later became represented by chocolate flakes poking out from ice cream cones.

Cadbury - who you’d assume would really know their stuff - have a different theory altogether however. In the days of the monarchy in Italy, the King had a specially chosen guard consisting of 99 men, and subsequently anything really special or first class was known as 99. Hence why the nation’s favourite summer treat came to be christened with the same numbers.

Now, the truth is, no one really knows why it's called what it's called. One thing we do know though is all this theorising is making us want to follow the chimes and track down the nearest ice cream van as soon as possible.