What Is the History of Ice Cream

Ice cream has been a popular treat that many see today as having developed relatively recently, as ice cream usually requires a form of refrigeration. While the modern form of ice cream is relatively more recent, the idea of ice cream has been present for millennia. Ice treats, which eventually gave us ice cream, were refreshing snacks usually reserved for elites or those who can obtain ice in times of warm or hot weather. The modern prevalence and look of ice cream can be traced to key developments in the industrial age, although its idea is much more ancient.

Early Developments

It is not clear when the idea of ice cream exactly developed. However, already by the 2nd millennium BC, around 1800 BC, records from the ancient Near East state of Mari indicate ice was being collected for refreshment during the hot months. An ice house was built in the city of Terqa, suggesting the ice would be stored there during the winter months, when it may have been brought down from the mountains, and then stored in the ice house. In China, at about the same time, a flavored ice was known that resembles modern sherbet, where fruit would be frozen and flavored with honey or other sweet tastes. By the Achaemenid Persian period, around 500 BC, the Persians are depicted as using a type of grape concentrate which they would then mix with ice to create a cold, grape flavored treat. They would also use honey to give it a sweet taste. This seems to have been introduced to the Greeks after the invasion of Alexander, where records indicate the Greeks were doing similar things soon after Alexander arrived in the region.

Similar ice flavored treats continued in the Roman period. In the mountains of Italy, ice harvesters would be sent to get ice during the colder months and the ice would then be brought to Rome or other cities. Ice houses, which had sometimes underground chambers to keep the cool, were used to preserve the ice. The ice, when it was consumed, was flavored with fruits and juices to create something akin to what we would call a slushy (i.e., mostly flavored ice).

It was only in the 16th century that the texture of what we call ice cream began to appear. By this time or perhaps in the 16th century, flavored ice was mixed with milk and cream. The presence of ice cream likely came via the Silk Road or it has been mentioned from the period of Marco Polo. Eventually, when sugar came from the New World, that was then also mixed with the flavored ice, milk, and cream combination. The use of cream mixed with ice helped create the name "ice cream" or "iced cream" as it was initially know. This innovation probably came via Italy and France, where from there it spread to the rest of Europe. However, having ice required having ice houses, which were not common. Thus it was mostly a royal type of treat or consumed by upper elites of society and not widely available.

Key Changes

By the 17th century, beginning first in France, cafe culture began to spread, where these shops offered coffee and tea. However, ice cream began to also appear on menus in some of the well to do cafes that could afford to keep ice. Recipes for ice cream also appeared, which not only spread interest in making ice cream but also it encouraged experimentation. Eating ice cream with strawberries and milk were considered to be a particular treat with the frozen desserts. The 18th century saw the expansion of ice cream, where many shops and ice cream makers operated. It was during the colonial period that ice cream was introduced to the United States, perhaps via Quakers who brought their recipes books with them as they came to the colonies.