A COLD soup was one of the most searched items during the July heatwave where temperatures reached highs of 40°C in the UK for the first time.

With the second heatwave which has hit Oxfordshire this week, people are guaranteed to be searching again for food and drink items to help them keep cool.

Pantry & Larder, an online publication which provides tested food advice, recipes, and original food research, have analysed which items were the most searched for during the July heatwave.

READ MORE: Met Office issue EXTREME heat warning for Oxfordshire

Searches for gazpacho, a type of cold soup, increased by 739 per cent. This is the highest since records first began in 2004.

The dish is widely eaten in Spain and Portugal and is made of raw, blended vegetables.

In second place for most searches was ice lollies which increased by 711 per cent. People were also searching up how to make their own ice cream.

Mr Whippy was in third with a 700 per cent increase in searches just ahead of frozen watermelon at 645 per cent more searches and homemade lemonade with 554 per cent more searches.

Other results included:

  •  Searches for 'frose' (a frozen rose) increased by 487 per cent
  • Searches for 'frozen bananas' increased by 474 per cent
  •  Searches for 'iced coffee' increased by 449 per cent
  •  Searches for 'how to barbecue' increased by 412 per cent
  • Searches for 'potato salad' increased by 401 per cent
  • Searches for 'salad recipe' increased by 342 per cent
  •  Searches for 'pasta salad' increased by 339 per cent
  •  Searches for 'how to make ice cream' increased by 328 per cent
  • Searches for 'iced tea' increased by 323 per cent

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Veronica Fletcher, from Pantry & Larder, said: “With Britain braced for yet another heatwave, we dug into Google search data to find out the most in-demand food and drink items when the temperature rises.

“Unsurprisingly, foods such as ice cream, ice lollies, and frozen fruits all exploded in volume. We also saw a surge in 'homemade' queries as supermarkets ran low on popular items such as ice cream and cold drinks"

Temperatures this week reached highs of 32°C, which was hotter than popular holiday destination Ibiza on Thursday (11) and Friday (12), with a yellow weather warning in place from Thursday (11) until Sunday (14).

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The Met Office warned people to expect “extreme” heat conditions across the county with the potential for adverse health effects, delays in travel, and more.

The extreme heat is fuelled by climate change, which is making every heatwave more intense, frequent and likely, scientists warn.

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Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland, she joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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