Ice Cream History
Content
Ice cream history
The origin of ice cream can be traced back to at least the 4th century B.C., but ice cream was most likely known even earlier in China and other parts of Asia. At that time ice cream was not really ice cream, but rather ice or snow flavoured with fruit or honey.
First historical references from the 4th century B.C. show that Alexander the Great was known to enjoy ice flavoured with honey. And later, in the first century A.D., Roman Emperor Nero used to order ice brought from surrounding mountains, and have it flavoured with fruits and fruit juices.
In the 13th century Marco Polo brought back a recipe similar to today¶s sorbet ice from his travel to China. This delicacy was introduced in the European courts and is assumed to have developed into ice cream as we know it, sometime in the 16th century. In the 17th century ice cream became available for the wealthy consumers outside the nobility.
In the 18th century ice cream was served for the first time in the United States, and in the 19th century the first industrial ice cream production starts in Baltimore, USA, in the year 1851.
In 1935 Gram refrigeration company made the world¶s first automatic Ice Bar Freezer, and in the following years ice cream equipment became one of the company¶s key businesses, making the company a leading force in the developement of machinery for the industrial production of ice cream.
Today¶s demands on the quality and quantity of ice cream are growing continuously. A combination of many years¶ experience and cutting edge technology enables Gram Equipment to create new and advanced machinery, to the benefit of manufacturers and millions of consumers around the world.
The evolution of ice cream products seems infinite with the multiplicity of possibilities in ice cream manufacturing. It is the aim of Gram Equipment to be an active part of the future ice cream history, leading the way with innovative ice cream machinery.
The History of Ice Cream Once upon a time, hundreds of years ago, Charles I of England hosted a sumptuous state banquet for many of his friends and family. The meal, consisting of many delicacies of the day, had been simply superb but the 'coup de grace' was yet to come. After much preparation, the King's French chef had concocted an apparently new dish. It was cold and resembled fresh, fallen snow but was much creamier and sweeter that any other after-dinner dessert. The guests were delighted, as was Charles, who summoned the cook and asked him not to divulge the recipe for his frozen cream. The King wanted the delicacy to be served only at the Royal Table and offered the cook £500 a year to keep it that way. Sometime later however, poor Charles fell into disfavour with his people and was beheaded in 1649. But by that time the secret of the frozen cream remained a secret no more. The cook, DeMirco, had not kept his promise. This story is one of many of the fascinating tales which surround the evolution of ice cream. In fact it is likely that ice cream was not invented but rather came to be over years of similar efforts. Indeed, the Roman Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar is said to have sent slaves to the mountains to bring snow and ice to cool and freeze the fruit drinks he was so fond of. Centuries later Marco Polo (1254-1324) was supposed to have seen ice cream being made during his trip to China and on his return introduced them to Italy. This story continues with the Italian chefs of Catherine de'Medici taking this magical dish to France when she went there in 1533 to marry the Duc d¶Orleans. The story goes that de'Medici¶s Italian chefs served a different flavour in each of the thirty-four days of the wedding celebration. Their son, Henry Ill, became so addicted to the delectable treat that he demanded a daily dose. Unfortunately, there is no historical evidence to support these accounts of the origin of ice cream. However, certain facts have been recorded. In 1670, a chef from PaIermo established the Cafe Procope in Paris where ices were (and still are) served to anyone with the money to buy them. By 1676, the streets were so crowded with copycat shops that an official permit was required for any new enterprise proposing to dispense ices. During the ensuing French fervour for ices, progressively more cream was added until Parisians were enjoying something very much like today¶s ice cream. Around 1700 the 84-page L 'Art de Fraire des Glace's came out - the first known book devoted entirely to ice cream recipes. Upon his first taste of the devastatingly rich confection later in the century, the French novelist Stendahl announced, "What a pity it isn't a sin!" In fact, it wasn't until the recipes reached the colonies that the frozen confection came to be known as ice cream. Previously it was called "ice" sometimes modified to "milk ice", "cream ice" or "butter ice" depending on the ingredients used. In 1774, a caterer named Phillip Lenzi announced in a New York newspaper that he had just arrived from London and would be offering for sale various confections, including ice cream which he wrote "may be had almost every day."
George Washington purportedly purchased hundreds of dollars worth in a single summer. Dolly Madison, wife of America's fourth President served ice cream at her husband's Inaugural Ball at the White House in 1813. She created a sensation by combining strawberries from the Madison¶s garden with fresh cream from the Montpelier Dairy to make strawberry ice cream. But ice cream remained a delicacy enjoyed in the New World only by the very wealthy until a New Jersey woman, Nancy Johnson, invented the hand crank freezer in 1846. Johnson's innovative device both simplified home ice cream making and the cost of it commercially. Today, modern connoisseurs with demanding tastes still believe that her classic freezer makes the best ice cream. Not long after the invention of the hand crank freezer, the editor of the influential magazine 'Godey¶s Ladies Book' insisted that ice cream had become "one of the necessities of life. A party without it would be like breakfast without bread or dinner without a roast." Commercial production was begun in North America in Baltimore, Maryland, 1851, by Mr. Jacob Fusell, now known as the father of the American ice cream industry. Jacob Fusell, who had been seeking a way to market surplus cream, found that ice cream proved so much more profitable than milk. He converted his entire dairy to ice cream production and later opened up additional plants in Washington, Boston, and New York. In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt signed the first Food and Drug Act regulating the manufacture of ice cream and other foods. To qualify for sugar rationing during World War I, the industry convinced government to classify ice cream as essential food. Following the war, the height of prohibition found frosty refreshments featured as a fashionable alternative to liquor, and the rush was on to convert breweries into ice cream plants. In 1926 the first commercially successful continuous process freezer was perfected by Clarence Vogt. Mass production became a reality and ice cream parlours sprung up everywhere. Since then and with the invention of home freezers, ice cream has gone from strength to strength with absolutely no sign of its popularity abating
Most of the following material has been extracted from "The History of Ice Cream", written by the International Association of Ice Cream Manufacturers (IAICM), Washington DC, 1978. As you will note below, however, much of the early history of ice cream remains unproven folklore. Once upon a time, hundreds of years ago, Charles I of England hosted a sumptous state banquet for many of his friends and family. The meal, consisting of many delicacies of the day, had been simply superb but the "coup de grace" was yet to come. After much preparation, the King's french chef had concocted an apparently new dish. It was cold and resembled fresh- fallen snow but was much creamier and sweeter than any other after- dinner dessert. The guests were delighted, as was Charles, who summoned the cook and asked him not to divulge the recipe for his frozen cream. The King wanted the delicacy to be served only at the Royal table and offered the cook 500 pounds a year to keep it that way. Sometime later, however, poor Charles fell into disfavour with his people and was beheaded in 1649. But by that time, the secret of the frozen cream remained a secret no more. The cook, named DeMirco, had not kept his promise. This story is just one of many of the fascinating tales which surround the evolution of our country's most popular dessert, ice cream. It is likely that ice cream was not invented, but rather came to be over years of similar efforts. Indeed, the Roman Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar is said to have sent slaves to the mountains to bring snow and ice to cool and freeze the fruit drinks he was so fond of. Centuries later, the Italian Marco Polo returned from his famous journey to the Far East with a recipe for making water ices resembling modern day sherbets.
The origin of ice cream can be traced back to at least the 4th century B.C., but ice cream was most likely known even earlier in China and other parts of Asia. At that time ice cream was not really ice cream, but rather ice or snow flavoured with fruit or honey.
First historical references from the 4th century B.C. show that Alexander the Great was known to enjoy ice flavoured with honey. And later, in the first century A.D., Roman Emperor Nero used to order ice brought from surrounding mountains, and have it flavoured with fruits and fruit juices.
In the 13th century Marco Polo brought back a recipe similar to today¶s sorbet ice from his travel to China. This delicacy was introduced in the European courts and is assumed to have developed into ice cream as we know it, sometime in the 16th century. In the 17th century ice cream became available for the wealthy consumers outside the nobility.
In the 18th century ice cream was served for the first time in the United States, and in the 19th century the first industrial ice cream production starts in Baltimore, USA, in the year 1851.
In 1935 Gram refrigeration company made the world¶s first automatic Ice Bar Freezer, and in the following years ice cream equipment became one of the company¶s key businesses, making the company a leading force in the developement of machinery for the industrial production of ice cream.
Today¶s demands on the quality and quantity of ice cream are growing continuously. A combination of many years¶ experience and cutting edge technology enables Gram Equipment to create new and advanced machinery, to the benefit of manufacturers and millions of consumers around the world.
The evolution of ice cream products seems infinite with the multiplicity of possibilities in ice cream manufacturing. It is the aim of Gram Equipment to be an active part of the future ice cream history, leading the way with innovative ice cream machinery.
The History of Ice Cream Once upon a time, hundreds of years ago, Charles I of England hosted a sumptuous state banquet for many of his friends and family. The meal, consisting of many delicacies of the day, had been simply superb but the 'coup de grace' was yet to come. After much preparation, the King's French chef had concocted an apparently new dish. It was cold and resembled fresh, fallen snow but was much creamier and sweeter that any other after-dinner dessert. The guests were delighted, as was Charles, who summoned the cook and asked him not to divulge the recipe for his frozen cream. The King wanted the delicacy to be served only at the Royal Table and offered the cook £500 a year to keep it that way. Sometime later however, poor Charles fell into disfavour with his people and was beheaded in 1649. But by that time the secret of the frozen cream remained a secret no more. The cook, DeMirco, had not kept his promise. This story is one of many of the fascinating tales which surround the evolution of ice cream. In fact it is likely that ice cream was not invented but rather came to be over years of similar efforts. Indeed, the Roman Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar is said to have sent slaves to the mountains to bring snow and ice to cool and freeze the fruit drinks he was so fond of. Centuries later Marco Polo (1254-1324) was supposed to have seen ice cream being made during his trip to China and on his return introduced them to Italy. This story continues with the Italian chefs of Catherine de'Medici taking this magical dish to France when she went there in 1533 to marry the Duc d¶Orleans. The story goes that de'Medici¶s Italian chefs served a different flavour in each of the thirty-four days of the wedding celebration. Their son, Henry Ill, became so addicted to the delectable treat that he demanded a daily dose. Unfortunately, there is no historical evidence to support these accounts of the origin of ice cream. However, certain facts have been recorded. In 1670, a chef from PaIermo established the Cafe Procope in Paris where ices were (and still are) served to anyone with the money to buy them. By 1676, the streets were so crowded with copycat shops that an official permit was required for any new enterprise proposing to dispense ices. During the ensuing French fervour for ices, progressively more cream was added until Parisians were enjoying something very much like today¶s ice cream. Around 1700 the 84-page L 'Art de Fraire des Glace's came out - the first known book devoted entirely to ice cream recipes. Upon his first taste of the devastatingly rich confection later in the century, the French novelist Stendahl announced, "What a pity it isn't a sin!" In fact, it wasn't until the recipes reached the colonies that the frozen confection came to be known as ice cream. Previously it was called "ice" sometimes modified to "milk ice", "cream ice" or "butter ice" depending on the ingredients used. In 1774, a caterer named Phillip Lenzi announced in a New York newspaper that he had just arrived from London and would be offering for sale various confections, including ice cream which he wrote "may be had almost every day."
George Washington purportedly purchased hundreds of dollars worth in a single summer. Dolly Madison, wife of America's fourth President served ice cream at her husband's Inaugural Ball at the White House in 1813. She created a sensation by combining strawberries from the Madison¶s garden with fresh cream from the Montpelier Dairy to make strawberry ice cream. But ice cream remained a delicacy enjoyed in the New World only by the very wealthy until a New Jersey woman, Nancy Johnson, invented the hand crank freezer in 1846. Johnson's innovative device both simplified home ice cream making and the cost of it commercially. Today, modern connoisseurs with demanding tastes still believe that her classic freezer makes the best ice cream. Not long after the invention of the hand crank freezer, the editor of the influential magazine 'Godey¶s Ladies Book' insisted that ice cream had become "one of the necessities of life. A party without it would be like breakfast without bread or dinner without a roast." Commercial production was begun in North America in Baltimore, Maryland, 1851, by Mr. Jacob Fusell, now known as the father of the American ice cream industry. Jacob Fusell, who had been seeking a way to market surplus cream, found that ice cream proved so much more profitable than milk. He converted his entire dairy to ice cream production and later opened up additional plants in Washington, Boston, and New York. In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt signed the first Food and Drug Act regulating the manufacture of ice cream and other foods. To qualify for sugar rationing during World War I, the industry convinced government to classify ice cream as essential food. Following the war, the height of prohibition found frosty refreshments featured as a fashionable alternative to liquor, and the rush was on to convert breweries into ice cream plants. In 1926 the first commercially successful continuous process freezer was perfected by Clarence Vogt. Mass production became a reality and ice cream parlours sprung up everywhere. Since then and with the invention of home freezers, ice cream has gone from strength to strength with absolutely no sign of its popularity abating
Most of the following material has been extracted from "The History of Ice Cream", written by the International Association of Ice Cream Manufacturers (IAICM), Washington DC, 1978. As you will note below, however, much of the early history of ice cream remains unproven folklore. Once upon a time, hundreds of years ago, Charles I of England hosted a sumptous state banquet for many of his friends and family. The meal, consisting of many delicacies of the day, had been simply superb but the "coup de grace" was yet to come. After much preparation, the King's french chef had concocted an apparently new dish. It was cold and resembled fresh- fallen snow but was much creamier and sweeter than any other after- dinner dessert. The guests were delighted, as was Charles, who summoned the cook and asked him not to divulge the recipe for his frozen cream. The King wanted the delicacy to be served only at the Royal table and offered the cook 500 pounds a year to keep it that way. Sometime later, however, poor Charles fell into disfavour with his people and was beheaded in 1649. But by that time, the secret of the frozen cream remained a secret no more. The cook, named DeMirco, had not kept his promise. This story is just one of many of the fascinating tales which surround the evolution of our country's most popular dessert, ice cream. It is likely that ice cream was not invented, but rather came to be over years of similar efforts. Indeed, the Roman Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar is said to have sent slaves to the mountains to bring snow and ice to cool and freeze the fruit drinks he was so fond of. Centuries later, the Italian Marco Polo returned from his famous journey to the Far East with a recipe for making water ices resembling modern day sherbets.
