-
2000 BCE
frozen syrup
is being enjoyed in China -
400 BCE
sharbat
the precursor to modern sherbet is being enjoyed in Persia -
330 BCE
flavored ice
sweetened with honey is being enjoyed by Alexander the Great -
60
flavored snow
made with fruit juices and honey is being enjoyed by Emperor Nero of Rome -
Period: 68 to 1285
The Dark Ages of Ice Cream
nothing much is known about ice cream during this time period -
1295
frozen milk
is an ingredient in recipes for frozen syrup that Marco Polo brings from China -
1550
a treatise
is published by Blas de Villafranca, a Spanish doctor residing in Rome, with a technique for incorporating milk and cream into a smooth frozen treat. Using the technique, cooks place ice-cream ingredients in a metal vessel, which is then placed in a bucket filled with ice and salt (or saltpeter). The salt and ice absorbs energy in order to melt, thereby "pulling" energy from the creamy mixture which then solidifies. -
1558
a technique
Neapolitan Giambattista della Porta in his work Magia naturalis (Natural Magic): "Since the first thing people want to do at parties is drink wine as cold as ice, especially in the summer, I will teach you how it can not only be cooled but frozen, so it can only be drunk by sipping it. Pour some wine into a jar and add a little water so it freezes more quickly; then add snow in a wooden pot and sprinkle powdered saltpeter over it. Stir the jar in the snow and it will magically freeze." -
Period: to
ice cream is very expensive
and largely enjoyed only by royalty -
a word
appears for the first time in English: ice cream -
a sorbetti recipe book
comes out in Naples—the anonymously published "New and Quick Ways to Make All Kinds of Sorbets With Ease" -
a household guide
on cooking and household management is written by Antonio Latini of Naples, titled "The Modern Steward," and includes a section on ices -
Period: to
sorbetto, much cheaper than ice cream, grows in popularity
Along with sorbetti (ices churned smooth during freezing), there are granitas (granular concoctions of fruit and ice), and sorbetti con crema (ices with milk added—forerunners of gelato and ice cream). -
an ice cream recipe book
"L'Art de bien faire Les glaces d'office," the earliest recipe book devoted entirely to making ice cream, is published in France. Its subtitle reads: "True principles for freezing refreshments." -
the first U.S. president
George Washington spends about $200 this summer for ice cream (the equivalent of thousands of dollars today) -
an ice-cream maker
is invented by New Yorker Nancy M. Johnson and is the first hand-cranked ice-cream maker. Production time is drastically reduced. -
ice-cream factories
the first ever, are built by Jacob Fussell, a milkman from Baltimore -
Period: to
ice cream explodes in popularity
Ice cream's popularity explodes across the U.S. after the Civil War. Ice cream shops spring up across the nation where people enjoy the frozen treat once reserved for kings and queens.
