Did you know that ice cream was invented in China? It’s true, and it was created there almost 2,000 years ago. It didn’t have anything in common with modern ice cream, at least not the one I keep in my freezer. Even though it was prepared from milk, it also contained rice and snow, making it extremely different from the frozen foods available today.
Initially, the milk was brought to a boil before being blended with the rice. Once everything had been combined and the rice had begun to swell, it was placed in a basin and topped with snow. Unlike the mixing that occurs now, they would then wait until the snow had begun to melt before serving the ice cream.
Ice cream did not make its way to Europe until the seventeenth century in the west. It immediately became a favorite dessert in that location. But not for everyone. It was still regarded a luxury at the time, and only the wealthy could buy it. At the time, all ice cream was prepared by hand, and the procedure was extremely time-consuming. When I was a youngster, I used to assist my uncle manufacture it. We’d sit on the porch and create ice cream with an old-fashioned hand-powered ice cream maker that had been passed down through the family for generations.
I’m not sure how old it was, but in the early 1800s, a woman called Nancy Johnson built the first hand-cranked ice cream maker, which transformed children’s birthdays everywhere. From then on, it made it feasible to make ice cream more readily, though not effortlessly, and it quickly became a popular dessert in the United States.
Today, you can find ice cream in a wide variety of flavors, and the treat is enjoyed by people the world over. There is no need to list the flavors and variations, there are too many, and they never stop coming since new combinations pop up everyday.