Gelato, Granita, Kulfi, Sorbet, Sherbet, Sundae, Popsicle! I’m sure these have found their way to your heart and eventually to your stomach at some point in your life. While we are familiar with the saying that “Life is an ice-cream. Enjoy it before it melts” have you ever wondered about the origins of this delicious, icy and creamy dessert called Ice-cream?
Let me begin my favorable Ice-cream story by telling you how the name “ice-cream” came to be? Alexander The Great, the prodigious Macedonian ruler enjoyed snow and ice shavings topped with honey and fruit. It’s believed by many that this is one of the contributing factors to how the dessert now known as ‘ice cream’ got its name. But ice-cream was eaten way before that!
Food historians tell us the history of ice cream began with ancient, flavoured ices. The Chinese are generally credited for creating the first ice creams, possibly as early as 3000 BC. Marco Polo is popularly cited for introducing these tasty concoctions to Italy. But the ice creams we enjoy today are said to have been invented in Italy during the 17th century. To sum it up, ice cream was invented by China, introduced to the Western world by Italy, and made accessible to the general public by France. Isn’t that great!!!
Ice-cream cones however were created purely by accident at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair; the result of a chance encounter of two food vendors! One was selling ice cream in cups, the other was selling thin and crispy Middle Eastern pastries. When the ice cream vendor ran out of cups to serve his ice cream, the pastry vendor rolled up the waffle into a conical shape to help him out, and voilà! The ice cream cone was born!
But what about all the enchanting ice-cream flavours? Vanilla was one of the first flavours that was widely produced in the modern era from the 19th century and is still the top-selling flavour in the world today. Strawberry ice-cream was invented in 1813 in the United States by First Lady Dolley Madison, and it was served during her husband, President James Madison’s second inaugural banquet at the White House.
Exciting contemporary flavours include cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, cotton candy, Neapolitan, brownies, avocado, garlic, chili, liquorice, and stilton cheese among many others. There is an ice-cream for every mood and every palate. So, if you’re done reading this article, go grab yourself your favourite flavour of délicieuse ice-cream, forget for a moment your calorie count and enjoy!!!