Today’s Spotlight is on Ice Cream.

Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavored with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food coloring is sometimes added in addition to stabilizers.

Ice cream can also contain other ingredients, such as:

• Spices, such as cocoa or vanilla
• Fruit, such as strawberries or peaches
• Food coloring
• Stabilizers
• Nuts
• Chocolate chips

Ice cream has been a popular treat for hundreds of years but has only become commonplace since the widespread use of refrigeration. The first ice cream parlor in America opened in New York City in 1776.

Ice cream is made up of:

• Water, Ice, Milk fat, Milk protein, Sugar, Air.

Ice cream must contain at least 10 percent milkfat in order to be called ice cream. Other frozen desserts, such as sorbets, low-fat ice cream, and frozen yogurt, are not technically ice cream.

 

History

The earliest record of ice cream-like treats comes from 500 BC in Persia. The earliest references to ice houses and eating snow come from 11th century BCE China.

There’s additional evidence that ancient Egyptians served ice-and-snow drinks to the wealthy. In 2700 BC, archaeologists found a cup in an Egyptian tomb that may have been used to hold an early version of ice cream. The cup had snow or crushed ice in one half, and cooked fruit in the other.

It’s believed that flavored ice was produced in the Sahara Desert in ancient Egypt during the first dynasty in 2890 BC. Pharaohs would offer esteemed visitors fruit juice served with crushed ice.

Booza is sometimes called the “first ice cream in the world”. It originated in Greater Syria at least 1500 AD. The Wilton Candy Kitchen in Wilton, Iowa is the oldest ice cream and soda parlor in the world. Booza is an Arabic ice cream that’s popular in Middle Eastern countries like Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

 

There’s no definitive answer to who invented ice cream, but there are some notable people and events in its history:

• Antonio Latini – Invented the first milk-based sorbet, which many historians consider the first “official” ice cream.
• Philip Lenzi – Introduced ice cream to America in 1774.
• Jacob Fussell – First manufactured ice cream on a large scale in Baltimore, Maryland.
• Thomas Jefferson – Brought back a love for ice cream from Paris and served it at the executive mansion.

Here are some other events in the history of ice cream:

• 1553: Catherine de Medici introduced frozen desserts to France.
• 1660: Ice cream became available to the general public.
• 1846: The hand-cranked freezer was invented.
• 1880: The ice cream sundae was invented in America.
• 1880s: The first edible ice cream cups were patented.
• 1904: The waffle cone was introduced at the St. Louis World’s Fair.
• 1923: The Popsicle was patented.

Jacob Fussell was the first person to produce ice cream commercially.  In 1851, he built the first ice cream factory in Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania.  Fussell bought dairy products from farmers in York County, Pennsylvania, and sold them in Baltimore. He often had a surplus of cream, which he made into ice cream.  He shipped the ice cream to Baltimore by train.

Before 1800, ice cream was a rare and exotic dessert enjoyed mostly by the elite. Around 1800, insulated ice houses were invented.

 

Here are some fun facts about ice cream:

• It takes 12 pounds of milk to make one gallon of ice cream.
• The average number of licks to finish a scoop of ice cream is 50.
• The most popular flavor of ice cream is vanilla, followed by chocolate.
• The tallest ice cream cone was over 9 feet tall in Italy.
• The average cow produces enough milk in its lifetime to make 7.5 thousand gallons of ice cream.
• The first ice cream made specifically with milk was a Chinese concoction from around 200 CE.
• The emperors of the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD) are believed to have been the first to eat “a frozen milk-like confection”.
• The waffle cone was accidentally made when a vendor ran out of ice cream cups and turned to a waffle seller to meet the demands of customers.
• The average person in the United States eats 45.8 pints of ice cream a year.

 

Consumption

The average American eats about 20 pounds of ice cream per year, or about 4 gallons. However, per capita consumption has decreased since the mid-1980s, reaching a low of 12.0 pounds in 2018 and again in 2021. The world’s annual consumption of ice cream is estimated to be around 15.4 billion liters. In the US, residents consumed 20.3 pounds of frozen dairy products per capita in 2021, nearly 6 pounds less than in 2000.

Low-fat and nonfat ice cream consumption has fared better from 1986 to 2021, rising from 6.1 pounds per person per year in 1986 to 6.4 pounds in 2021.

 

Celebrating Ice Cream

December 13 has been designated as Ice Cream Day. This day, along with several others is set aside to tip our hat to the frozen dessert we all love.

Let us know in the comments your favorite ice cream.