By Cathy Mallare
The story of ice cream begins a long, long time ago in a most beautiful place. The story of ice cream begins over 3,000 years ago in China. Lots of cool things were invented in China. Umbrellas, glasses and fireworks were all invented in China but the tastiest and coldest Chinese invention is snow ice cream. The Emperors of China were the first people, we know about who were lucky enough to get to eat snow ice cream. Their cooks mixed snow and ice from the mountains with fruit, wine and honey to make a tasty treat for their rulers to enjoy when they wanted to relax.
How the Romans came up with the idea of making snow ice cream we do not know. But what we do know is that in 62 A.D. the Roman Emperor Nero wanted to eat snow ice cream so badly he sent slaves up to the mountains to bring back snow and ice so his cooks could make it for him. Nero's cooks mixed the ice and snow the slaves brought back with nectar, fruit and honey and then Nero ate it.
In 1295, Marco Polo, a great adventurer, returned from China to Italy with a new recipe for making snow ice cream. His recipe called for mixing yak milk into snow in order to make it creamy. The idea of mixing a mammal's milk into snow ice cream caught on and soon the rich people of Italy were enjoying frozen milk.
In 1533, Catherine de Medici of Florence, Italy became the Queen of France when she married the French king, Henry II. One of the things she took with her when she moved from her home in Italy to her castle in France was her recipe for making frozen milk. Soon many of the cooks in France were making the delicious treat. One French chef opened a shop to sell the tasty treat. He was the first cook to add flavors like chocolate and strawberry to the frozen milk.
When Charles I of England visited France in the 1600s, he was served frozen milk. He loved it so much, he asked the French chef who served it to him to sell him the recipe. Charles I took the recipe back to England with him and the rich people of England began to eat the delicious cold dessert.
In 1700, Governor Bladen of Maryland, who was from England, served ice cream to his guests. Seventy-six years later, the first ice cream parlor in America opened in New York City.
Dolly Madison, the president's wife loved ice cream so much, she served it to her White House guests in 1812. In 1843, an American woman named Nancy Johnston invented the hand-cranked ice cream freezer, which made making ice cream easier. In 1851 Jacob Fussel opened the first ice cream factory in the United States of America in Baltimore, Maryland. He sold his ice cream from a wagon. In 1899, August Gaulin, who lived in France, invented the homogeniser. This invention helped give ice cream a really smooth texture. In 1902, August Gaulin invented a new kind of ice cream freezer that helped make ice cream freeze faster.
In 1903, Italo Marchiony, a man who sold ice cream from a pushcart he pushed through the streets of New York City, invented the ice cream cone and patented his idea. He invented the waffle cup because he was tired of people walking off with or breaking the glasses he used to serve ice cream from his pushcart.
A year later in 1904, E.A. Hamwi introduced the waffle cone at the St. Louis World Fair. People say he began making the waffle cones when an ice cream vendor at the fair ran out of bowls.
The closing of bars that sold wine and beer in 1919 led to the opening of many ice cream parlors in the United States. The more Americans ate ice cream the more they wanted to eat ice cream. This demand for ice cream led to the invention of the first chocolate covered ice cream bar. The first chocolate ice cream bar was called the I-Scream Bar but later its name was changed to the Eskimo Pie. You can buy an Eskimo pie at the grocery store if you want to find out what it tastes like. You can also buy a Good Humor Bar which was invented in 1920 and was the first ice cream sold on a stick. But if you're like me, you'll head to Baskin-Robbins, which first opened in 1946 in California, and buy a scoop of Cookies 'N Cream which is made with real Oreo cookies. This ice cream flavor was invented in 1983. Others like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough have been invented since 1983 but Cookies 'N Cream will always be my favorite. Of course, vanilla ice cream with honey on top is also very good. I'm so glad someone in China decided to mix snow and ice with honey and that now even poor people like me can afford to eat tasty frozen treats each and every day of the week, just like Mr. Baskin and Mr. Robbins intended.
