You Scream! I Scream! We All Scream For Ice Cream!

By Priya Deesh

When you are stressed you eat ice cream, you know why? Because stressed spelled backwards is desserts. You can’t buy happiness but you can buy ice cream and that’s pretty much the same thing.

The phrase ice cream reminds of the memories of the summers be it swilling melted cones, hot fudge sundaes, caramel mocha and the list is endless. This utmost traditional treat has a very worldly stretched history. Every country has its own twirl on this. Oh so delicious frozen confection, in India its Kulfi, in Italy its Gelato, in Japan its Mocha and in America it is Ice Cream. There are many romantic tales and myths behind its origin, but none of them are true. 

The ice cream today we eat has a very little resemblance to its earliest form.

During the biblical passages, king Solomon was found enjoying the cooled iced drinks at the time of harvest season. Alexandar-the great of ancient Greece loved to gratify in icy drinks flavoured with honey and wine. Ice was harvested from the nearby mountains and held in ice-house (deep pits covered with straw), at the time of Nero’s reign of Rome (from 54-68BC).

The first ancestors to eat the frozen milk confection were the emperors of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). For the enrichment of texture and flavour camphor (an aromatic substance harvested from evergreen trees) was added and the cow, goat or buffalo milk was heated with flour. The mixture was then placed into metal tubes and lowered into ice pool until frozen, similar as Indians made Kulfi.

The chilled drinks often flavoured with cherry, pomegranate or quince were drank as an icy refreshment called Sherbet by the Arabic in medieval times.

Ice cream is likely to reach America, with the European settlers in the early 1700s. In the mean while, several books had been produced including the recipe of ice cream.

All thanks to the ice cream moulds, that housewives serve these icy and flavoured delights to guests in the attractive shapes of vegetables, fruits and animals.

After the wait of a long time, in 1790 the first ice cream parlour opened in New York. Though its history spans worldwide and over centuries, ice cream has made a corner in every person’s heart and now a must have refreshing dish after dinner and often serve as deserts in menu cards.