History of Ice Cream
Ice Cream has an interesting and colorful history. Here is a brief chronology of ice cream:
- During the first century A.D., the ancient Greeks, Romans and Jews were said to have chilled wines and juices making a fruit ice. This later evolved into adding milk and cream to the mixtures.
- The Roman emperor Nero is said to have sent men to the mountains to collect snow so his kitchen staff could make a frozen dessert for him that contained fruit and honey. (Later on, Nero fiddled as Rome burned, but that is another story!)
- During the 12th century, Marco Polo introduced Europe to a frozen
milk-based dessert that he had encountered on his travels in the
Far East.
In the 14th century, those attending the coronation of England’s Henry V were served a frozen dessert they called cremefrez. - During the 1500’s, Catherine de Medici became the bride of France’s
King Henry II. She brought recipes for frozen desserts to the royal
court of France.
The first recorded public sale of ice cream occurred during the 17th century in Paris France at the Café Procope. - In England in the 17th century, Charles I was treated to the crème ice of the era on a regular basis. Crème ice of this era was often flavored with fruits such as apricots or flower parts such as rose petals, and sometimes with chocolate.
- Across the Atlantic our early politicians, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, were fond of ice cream. Dolly Madison was known to serve ice cream at White House functions while she was first lady. Rum was said to be a favored flavoring for ice cream during this time period.
- During the later part of the 18th century, the famous pianist and composer Beethoven is said to have commented that the Austrian people feared that the unusually warm winter they were experiencing would prevent them from making and enjoying ice cream. Refrigeration had not yet been invented, and ice was very expensive, so ice cream was considered to be a delicacy enjoyed only by the very rich and influential.
- In the 19th century, ice harvesting methods and the development of insulated ice houses made ice more readily available to the general public. This in turn broadened the making of ice cream and increased the frequency of eating this delectable treat. However, making ice cream was still a challenging affair and required a good deal of work to produce a small amount.
- During the middle of the 1800’s, Nancy Johnson designed a hand cranked ice cream freezer that improved ice cream production for the average person.
- James Fussell of Baltimore, Maryland is credited with being the first commercial producer of ice cream. During the mid-1800’s, he began producing ice cream because his milk business was losing money on fresh cream that soured before it was bought. Turning the excess cream into ice cream and selling it at a discounted price, James Fussell created a demand that changed his business into a profitable enterprise.
- The Ice Cream soda was first created in Philadelphia in 1874.
- The 20th century brought steam and electric power, and mechanical refrigeration that benefited not only industry, but every citizen. Soon agricultural schools were teaching students the methodology of making ice cream. These elements caused the ice cream business and ice cream industry to flourish.
- In 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition,
the first ice cream cone is thought to have been invented. It is
said that an ice cream vendor ran out of cups and went next door to a
pastry shop to have edible cups made.
During the 1920’s and prohibition, the ice cream industry grew dramatically. Since people were denied access to alcoholic beverages, many people ate ice cream. Many breweries were converted to other businesses; some of them became ice cream factories. However, it is believed that the ice cream was a ‘front’ for the production of illegal spirits. The end of prohibition and the great depression that followed slowed the sale of ice cream, but the overall industry still continued to experience growth. - The advent of the movie house was instrumental in promoting ice cream
because it showed the stars of the day enjoying ice cream on the
silver screen.
World War II limited the availability of many of the ingredients needed to produce ice cream. Innovative souls began making a cheaper version of ice cream using less cream and more milk, which lowered the percentages of butterfat. They also began pumping more air into the mixture so that less ice cream filled the container.
Today, we enjoy ice cream on many levels of price and quality and can find just what we are looking for at our local supermarket or at a specialty ice cream shop. Flavors are limited only by the imagination of the individual making the ice cream. Ice cream will continue to evolve and will continue to be mentioned in history. Mankind has always enjoyed its food, and ice cream is an especially good food!
