Origination of Ice Cream

While I'm a big fan of ice cream I must admit I have never pondered where the stuff came from. I'm guessing somewhere cold maybe? Nopes, the fact is entirely different.

A post at Paleontology News has put me right. Ice cream has its roots in ancient China and Arabia.

Ice cream can be traced back to the 3rd Century BC Chinese Emperor and his nobility who were served concoctions of fruit juices with snow and ice.

The recipes of the unusual dessert were kept secret, and were revealed only in the 9th Century BC.

There are references stating that cooled juices were very popular in the palace of the legendary King Solomon, and that the famous ancient Greek physician Hippocrates recommended ice cream for a better tonus and health improvement

Snow and ice were used in ancient Rome to prepare fruit drinks for the Roman emperor Nero (AD 37-68). Large ice cellars were built to preserve the frozen treat for extended periods of time.

Marco Polo, who traveled to China and tasted the icy dessert, is thought to have brought ice cream to Europe

When he came back to Italy from his trip, he shared some of the recipes with local chefs. In the middle of the 16th Century, ice cream conquered France when Ekaterina Medici fell in love with this dessert. She treated her guests with ice cream at formal dinners and fed it to her son, Henry III.

By the 17th Century everyone in France was scoffing Ben and Jerry's (or the equivalent).

With time, technologies of ice cream manufacturing were perfected. Ice cream cups were invented in France during the reign of Napoleon III (1852-1870).

Assorted ice cream was first created in Italy, and chocolate was first added to the treat in Austria. Well done the Austrians!