Ice cream

Ice cream (originally iced cream) is a frozen dessert made from dairy products such as cream (or equivalents), combined with flavourings and sweeteners. This mixture is super-cooled by stirring while reducing its temperature to prevent large ice crystals from forming. Traditionally, the temperature has been reduced by placing the ice cream mixture into a container that is immersed in a mixture of crushed ice and salt. The salt allows liquid water to be below the freezing point of pure water, allowing the immersed container with cream to make better contact with the melted water/ice mixture.

History

There are several popular legends surrounding the discovery of ice cream. Saltpeter was used for the production of gunpowder in China, and the Chinese discovered that saltpeter in water caused the water to absorb heat, thus creating ice in summer. The Chinese put sugar in the ice and sold them as food during the summer. It is believed that the Song dynasty (宋朝) was the time when people began putting fruit juice in the water used to create the ice; milk was beginning to be used in the Yuan dynasty (元朝). Marco Polo supposedly saw ice cream being made on his trip to China, bringing the recipe home to Italy with him on his return. From there, Catherine de Medici's Italian chefs are said to have carried the recipe to France when she went there in 1533 to marry the Duc d'Orléans. Charles I was supposedly so impressed by the "frozen snow" that he offered his own ice cream maker a lifetime pension in return for keeping the formula secret, so that ice cream could be a royal prerogative. There is, however, no historical evidence to support this legend, which first appeared during the 19th century and was probably created by imaginative ice cream vendors. Ice cream most likely did originate in China, but it is unknown how and when the idea made its way into the Western world.

Related Topics:
Saltpeter - Marco Polo - China - Italy - Catherine de Medici - France - 1533 - Charles I - Pension - 19th century

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While it was not yet ice cream per se, some examples of early pre-planned, ice dishes include the Roman emperor Nero (A.D. 37-68) who is said to have ordered ice to be brought from the mountains and combined with fruit toppings, and King Tang (A.D. 618-97) of the Shang Dynasty who is said to have had a method of creating ice and milk concoctions. People living directly alongside snow and ice have probably always put sweet things like honey and fruit juice on frozen water for variety, as some still do to this day. Snow-cones, made from balls of crushed ice topped with sweet syrup served in a paper cone, are consumed in many parts of the world.

Related Topics:
Nero - Tang - Shang Dynasty

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Even earlier, in 400 BC Persia, a special chilled pudding-like dish, made of rosewater and vermicelli, working out as something like a cross between a sorbet and a rice pudding was served to the royalty during summers. The Persians had already mastered the technique of storing ice inside giant naturally cooled refrigerators known as yakh-chals. These storages kept ice brought in from the winter or from nearby mountains well into the summer. The storages worked by using tall windcatchers that kept the sub-level storage space at frigid temperatures. The ice was then mixed in with saffron, fruits, and various other flavors. The treat, widely made today in Iran, is called "faludeh", which is made from starch (wheat, probably), spun in a kind of sieve-like contraption which produces threads or drops of the batter, which are boiled in water. The mix is then frozen, and mixed with Rosewater and lemons, before serving. 1 2

Related Topics:
Persia - Rosewater - Naturally cooled ''refrigerators'' known as ''yakh-chal''s

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Contemporary western-style ice cream, however was probably “discovered” in the 1600’s, and was introduced to the United States jointly by Ben Franklin (who brought the idea from France), George Washington (who bought the first ice cream maker in the US), and Thomas Jefferson (who enthusiastically served it at parties and included a recipe in his published cook book). This was followed in the mid 19th century by the invention of the ice cream soda, then the ice cream sundae later in the century to placate religious conservatives, and both the ice cream cone and banana split in the first years of the 20th century. Dolley Madison is closely associated with the history of ice cream in the United States http://members.aol.com/acalendar/May/Dolley.html.

Related Topics:
Ben Franklin - George Washington - Thomas Jefferson - 19th century - Ice cream soda - Ice cream sundae - Ice cream cone - Banana split - 20th century - Dolley Madison

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20th century

The history of ice cream in the 20th century is one of great change and increase in availability and popularity. Retail storefront outlets developed as chains of ice cream stores, such as Baskin Robbins.

Related Topics:
20th century - Baskin Robbins

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Around the turn of the 20th century, the ice cream soda was probably the single most popular teen delicacy in America, so much so that religious conservatives considered it sinful and subversive, giving rise to actual legal prohibition of the stuff on holy days, which probably influenced the creation of the modern ice cream sundae.

Related Topics:
Ice cream soda - Ice cream sundae

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Ice cream became extremely popular throughout the world in the second half of the 20th century after cheap refrigeration became common, and wages became high enough to indulge in such minor luxuries. Soon there was an explosion of ice cream stores and of flavours and types. Vendors often competed on the basis of variety. Howard Johnson's restaurants advertised "a world of 28 flavors." Baskin-Robbins made its 31 flavors ("one for every day of the month") the cornerstone of its marketing strategy; the company now boasts that it has developed over 1000 varieties.

Related Topics:
Refrigeration - Howard Johnson's

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One important development in the 20th century was the introduction of soft ice cream. A chemical research team in Britain (of which a young Margaret Thatcher was a member) discovered a method of doubling the amount of air in ice cream. This allowed manufacturers to use less of the actual ingredients, saving money. The ice cream was also very popular amongst consumers who preferred the light flavour, and most major ice cream brands now use this manufacturing process.

Related Topics:
Soft ice cream - Britain - Margaret Thatcher

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Interestingly enough the 1990s saw a return of the older, thicker, ice creams being sold as elite varieties. Both Ben and Jerry's and Häagen-Dazs fall into this category.

Related Topics:
1990s - Ben and Jerry's - Häagen-Dazs

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A peculiar development in ice cream of the 21st century is Heston Blumenthal's egg and bacon flavoured ice cream http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=site%3Awww.guardian.co.uk+OR+site%3Awww.ntk.net+OR+site%3Anews.bbc.co.uk+OR+site%3Awww.timesonline.co.uk+OR+site%3Awww.telegraph.co.uk++%22heston+blumenthal%22+egg+and+bacon+ice+cream&btnG=Search&meta=

Related Topics:
21st century - Heston Blumenthal

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Ice cream cone

The use of a cone for serving ice cream can be traced back to Mrs Marshall's Cookery Book published in 1888. Agnes Marshall was a celebrated cookery writer of her day and helped to popularise ice cream. She patented and manufactured an ice cream maker and was the first person to suggest using liquid gases to freeze ice cream after seeing a demonstration at the Royal Institution. The first ice cream cones were introduced at the World's Fair in 1904.

Related Topics:
Cone - 1888 - Agnes Marshall - Cookery writer - Royal Institution - World's Fair in 1904

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The popularity of selling ice cream in cones increased greatly after Charles E. Menches of St. Louis, Missouri used them at the St. Louis World's fair in 1904. The story behind why ice creams were sold at the World's Fair is that the ice cream seller had ran out of small cups, and without them could not sell anymore ice cream. Next door to the ice cream booth was the waffle booth, the waffle maker offered to make cones out of stiff waffles, and the new product became extremely popular at the fair and was widely copied by other vendors.

Related Topics:
St. Louis - Missouri - St. Louis World's fair - 1904

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