Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food that is usually eaten as a snack or dessert. The question of who invented ice cream is not an easy one. The technology of its production has undergone a significant evolution. Nowadays, it is usually made from dairy products - cream or milk - combined with fruit or other dessert ingredients. Typically, modern ice cream is sweetened with sucrose, cane sugar, beet sugar, or other similar sweeteners. Today, various flavors and dyes are used as an addition to stabilizers.
The mixture is agitated to add air spaces to it and cooled below the freezing point of water to prevent ice crystals from forming. This is a classic definition, but has it always been this way?
What it is?
The meaning of the term "ice cream" may vary from country to country. Phrases such as "frozen yogurt", "gelato", "sorbet", "frozen custard" and others are used to refer to different varieties and flavors. In some countries, the definition of "ice cream" refers only to a certain type of product, as well as the number of main ingredients. Dishes that do not meet the established criteria are called "frozen dessert", etc.
Today, in almost all countries, you can find a treat made from alternatives to cow's milk. So, they make it from sheep or goat milk, or add its vegetable substitutes (for example, soy or tofu).
Ice cream can be served in bowls for eating with a spoon or in cups and cones for licking. It can be served with other desserts such as apple pie. It is also used to prepare other dishes, including milkshakes.
The history of the appearance of delicacy
Who invented ice cream for the first time? As early as the 5th century BC, the ancient Greeks ate snow mixed with honey and fruits. This delicacy was sold in the markets of Athens. The well-known Hippocrates recommended that his patients eat ice, considering it a means to revitalize vitality.
In the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great's favorite delicacy was snow mixed with honey and nectar.
A frozen mixture of milk and rice was used around 200 BC. e. in China. The Chinese poured a mixture of snow and saltpeter over vessels filled with syrup. This technology reduces the freezing point below zero. Therefore, it is difficult to say in which century ice cream was invented.
Other countries also had similar dishes. In 400 BC. e. the Persians also invented a special chilled food made from rose water and noodles served on ice during the summer. Ice was mixed with saffron, fruits, and various other flavors were also added.
Rimsky (37-68 AD) personally brought ice from the mountains and mixed it with fruit fillings to create a chilled delicacy. Of course, it cannot be said that he was the first to come up with ice cream, but such a recipe is the closest prototype of the modern sorbet.
Middle Ages
In the sixteenth century, the Mongol emperors used fast horsemen to carry ice from the Hindu Kush to Delhi to use in fruit desserts. Thus, it is quite difficult to answer the question in which country ice cream was invented. But this delicacy was quickly appreciated and continued to develop.
The Italian Duchess Catherine de Medici is credited with introducing ice cream to Europe in the 16th century. According to historical legend, when the Medicis married the Duke of Orléans in 1533, she brought several Italian chefs with her to France who used recipes for flavored ice or sorbet. The question of where ice cream was invented according to this recipe has not been disclosed. But the dessert was very well received.
A century later, Charles I (King of England) was so impressed with the ice dessert that he offered the chef a lifetime pension as a favor for keeping the ice cream recipe a secret so that the dessert remained only a royal prerogative. However, there is no historical evidence to support these legends, which first appeared in the 19th century.
Who came up with ice cream for mass recipes?
The first recipe for flavored ice in French appeared in 1674 in a large collection. Tips for making sorbets were also published in 1694 in several English sources, and then reprinted several times. Initially, according to these recommendations, only a dish with a rough taste, with large pieces of ice, could be made. Subsequently, chefs began to argue that real ice cream should have a thin consistency of sugar and finely crushed ice.
Popularity breakdown
In the Mediterranean countries, ice cream became available to the general population by the 2nd half of the eighteenth century. The delicacy became inexpensive and widespread by the middle of the nineteenth century in England, when in 1851 an emigrant from Switzerland, Carlo Gatti, opened the first store in Charing Cross, equipped with a refrigerated display case invented by the owner. This technology began to be successful, and soon portable glaciers began to appear everywhere.
Speaking of who invented ice cream, one should not forget about such a figure as Agyness Marshall, who is considered the "queen of desserts" in England. She actively popularized the recipes for the delicacy and made its consumption fashionable among middle-class people. She has written four books on ice cream and has regularly lectured publicly on cooking. Marshall even suggested using liquid nitrogen to make a heavily chilled dessert.
New species
The uniform consistency of ice cream was invented in the 1870s and immediately became popular. It is believed that it was invented in 1874 by the American culinary specialist Robert Green, but in fact there is no hard evidence for this. It is also impossible to say unambiguously when and where ice cream ice cream was invented. It is believed that it first appeared at the end of the 19th century in one of about the same period of time, several culinary experts claimed to have created the world's first fruit and berry ice cream, but not a single original recipe has survived. As the legend goes, fruit varieties began to be invented for use as a lean product.
Growing popularity
Despite the fact that no one could answer the question in which century ice cream (plombir, sorbet, gelato) was invented, the unequivocal popularity of the delicacy in the world arose in the second half of the 20th century, after cheap refrigeration equipment became common. It was in those years that there was a real "boom" in the production of ice cream of various tastes and types. Vendors often competed on the basis of diversity. At the same time, retail outlets specializing specifically in this delicacy appeared. The most famous brand to this day is Baskin Robbins, which entered the market with 31 fragrances, and does not change its traditions. The main slogan of the company is one taste for every day of the month. The company currently boasts that it has created over 1,000 varieties.
soft ice cream
A significant development was the invention in the 20th century of soft ice cream, which has more air in its composition. In addition, its production technology is such that costs are reduced very significantly. Further development of the production of soft ice cream led to the emergence of special machines that squeeze the mass into a waffle cone. Today, such a delicacy is offered both in independent retail outlets and in fast food chains.
Favorite delicacy of most sweet tooth. Balls, cups, fruit ice - all this beckons on a hot day. Have you ever wondered who, when and where ice cream ice cream was invented?
Ice cream BC
It turns out that the history of this dessert is rooted far back in time. Now it is no longer possible to reliably say who was the first inventor. According to various versions, it was either the Roman emperor Nero, or the conqueror Alexander the Great. One of these greats loved to indulge in crushed fruit ice, forcing specially trained runners to race up the mountains to get the ice and bring it to the table before it melted. Under the Chinese emperor Tanggu, ice cream took another step towards our familiar appearance - they began to add milk to it.
Ice cream in Europe and Russia
Ice cream came to Europe, most likely from the Celestial Empire, and immediately fell in love with the Italian and French nobility. The recipe for the dessert was kept in the strictest confidence. Under Catherine de Medici, its disclosure was punishable by death, but one way or another, the secret delicacy went to the people.
In Russia, the history of ice cream developed independently, in isolation from European passions. In what century ice cream ice cream was invented, history is silent. According to scientists, frozen milk was used in ancient Russia. True, they usually cooked and ate it in winter, when it was not difficult to freeze milk or a mixture of cottage cheese with raisins and sugar. Ice cream acquired a more or less modern look in the 18th century. Milk and vanillin were added to the mixture of ice and fruit juice.
The production of ice cream was put on an industrial basis in the USA, from where it quickly moved to our country with the preservation of the recipe.
Currently
Now ice cream is made in all countries, it is inexpensive and accessible to everyone. The variety of flavors is amazing. In addition to the usual fruit and berry additives, nuts, as well as chocolate and vanillin, you can find cheese, onion, tomato, fish, shrimp and even beer ice cream. Such an original look at a sweet dessert is offered in Venezuela, in the Coromoto cafe.
Ice cream technology has reached such heights that special low-carb ice cream for people with diabetes, protein ice cream for athletes, fortified ice cream and similar options are being produced, proving that dessert can be not only tasty, but also.
Thank you for your opinion!
So many conflicting stories have been written about the origin of people's favorite delicacy - cold, sweet ice cream - that it is rather difficult to determine where the truth is and where the legends are.
Ice cream has been accompanying mankind for more than one millennium. The history of ice cream is very ancient and fascinating. The first ice cream appeared not in Ancient Greece or Rome, but in Ancient China 5 thousand years ago. The Chinese enjoyed snow and ice mixed with slices of oranges, lemons and pomegranate seeds. Recipes and storage methods were kept secret and were declassified only in the 11th century BC in the book "Shi-king" - the canonical collection of ancient songs.
Another ancient source describing the use of chilled juices during harvesting is the letters of Solomon, king of Israel. Recommended ice cream to improve health and the famous ancient physician Hippocrates.
At the court of the Roman emperor Nero (1st century AD), cooling and sweetened juices were already widely used. It is noteworthy that snow for their preparation was delivered from remote alpine glaciers, and for long-term storage of snow, capacious ice cellars were built.
Ice cream was served to Alexander the Great during his campaigns in Persia and India. During a long siege of cities, a large amount of snow was mined from the mountains, in which berries and water were also frozen. In order to prevent the snow from melting, they organized special relay races of slaves. By the way, it was his soldiers who came up with the idea of adding wine, honey and milk to water with fruits.
According to legend, the recipe for fruit ice cream (chilled sorbet) was brought to Europe by the Venetian traveler Marco Polo from China at the beginning of the 14th century. The recipes for making ice cream were classified for a long time, court cooks took a vow of silence about everything that was connected with its preparation.
There are many interesting stories related to ice cream. Incredibly, but, according to sources, in 780 AD. Caliph Al Mahdi managed to deliver a whole caravan of camels loaded with snow to Mecca. Another equally striking fact is described by the Persian traveler Nassiri-Khozrau (1040 AD): snow from the mountainous regions of Syria was delivered daily to the table of the Cairo Sultan for making drinks and ice cream.
In the middle of the XYI century, the famous Italian Bentalenti, a recognized authority in the preparation of ice cream and soft drinks, was a culinary specialist at the court of the French king.
Queen of France Catherine de Medici was very fond of ice cream. At gala dinners, she treated guests to ice cream and sherbet, where, according to her own recipe, chilled tangerine and orange juice was added. The Medici son Henry III had a real addiction to this delicacy. Very soon, ice cream and drinks from Versailles migrated to the mansions of French nobles. This was not prevented by the most severe bans on the disclosure of the ice cream recipe, which was considered a state secret, which was guarded by a law that punished violators with the death penalty.
Many new varieties of ice cream appeared in France during the reign of Queen Anne of Austria. Once, at one of the banquets in honor of her son Louis XIV, each guest was served an egg in a gilded glass, which in fact turned out to be delicious ice cream.
In the middle of the 17th century, ice cream became available to many residents of the French capital. Numerous sellers of ice cream and soft drinks and juices appear in Paris. And already in 1676, 250 Parisian confectioners united in a corporation of ice cream workers, during these years they began to produce ice cream all year round.
History has brought us legends that among the admirers of ice cream was Napoleon Bonaparte himself. In the declining years of the former ruler of Europe, his admirers sent a device for making ice cream to St. Helena.
Under Napoleon III (1852 - 1870), ice cream in cups and sundaes were produced in Paris for the first time (the famous ice cream comes from the French city of Plobiere-Les-Baemes), in Italy - great lovers of mixing the most incredible products, came up with assorted ice cream with fruit, nuts, liquor, biscuit pieces and even flowers; in Austria, glace coffee and chocolate ice cream.
At this time, frozen whipped cream mixed with finely chopped almonds and maraschino, puff ice cream with strawberries and grated dome-shaped chocolate appear. New varieties of ice cream prepared on the occasion of celebrations were quickly adopted in mass production.
Ice cream recipes were brought to America by English settlers as early as 1700. At receptions hosted by the then Governor of Maryland, William Blade, guests were treated to popsicles and soft drinks. And in 1774, entrepreneur Philip Lenzi announced in the New York papers that he had just arrived from London with a stockpile of recipes for various sweets, including such a rarity as ice cream.
In 1834, American John Perkin patented the idea of using ether in a compressor apparatus. 10 years later, the Englishman Thomas Masters received a patent for an ice cream machine, which was a tin jug with a rotating three-blade spatula, surrounded by ice, snow, or a mixture of one of them with salt, ammonium salts, saltpeter, ammonium nitrates or calcium chloride. According to the patent description, Masters' machine could cool, as well as simultaneously freeze and whip ice cream. In 1848 two ice cream machines were patented in the USA. One of them consisted of a device with two concentric cylinders, one of which was filled with refrigerant. In 1860, Ferdinand Carré created the world's first absorption refrigeration machine, powered by liquid and solid absorbent. Four years later, Carré improved the compression machine, in which for the first time a new refrigerant, ammonia, was used.
Many US presidents were also fond of ice cream. For example, the country's first president, George Washington, personally made it on his ranch on the outskirts of Mont Vernon. In 1919, Christian Nilson developed recipes and technology for the production of chocolate-glazed ice cream. Four years passed, and in 1923 he was granted a patent for the idea of an apparatus for the production of ice cream on a stick. So the world learned about the "Eskimo pie" (Eskimo pie) or simply "Eskimo". However, the championship in the production of "eskimo" among the Americans is disputed by the French.
In 1979, the French company "Gervais" celebrated the 60th anniversary of the "eskimo". Until the beginning of the 20th century, Gervais specialized in the manufacture of cheeses, until one of its founders, Charles Gervais, tasted the popular fruit ice cream in America.
After returning to France, he got the idea to cover the ice cream with chocolate icing and "plant" it on a stick.
According to French sources, the name "eskimo" arose by chance. In one of the Parisian cinemas, where Gervais sold his sweet products, a film from the life of the Eskimos was shown. And since the repertoire of cinemas changed quite rarely in those days, one of the witty spectators who watched a film about the Eskimos several times and ate a dozen portions of ice cream in chocolate during this time called it "eskimo".
Serial production of freezers began in the second half of the 19th century by Jacob Fussell in Baltimore. A little later, refrigeration machines were invented, methods for producing and storing ice were developed, which made it possible to significantly reduce labor intensity, and, consequently, the cost of ice cream. And in 1904, in the city of St. Louis, an international ice cream exhibition was held, at which the first machine for the production of waffle cups was demonstrated.
In 1919, American Christian Nelson developed recipes for chocolate-glazed ice cream. It was called "Eskimo Pie" (Eskimo Pie). Nelson took his products around the cities and sold them while showing a film about the Eskimos. In the end, the word "share" fell out, and ice cream on a wooden stick began to be called simply popsicle.
In Russia, the people have long used their own types of ice cream, since in cold winters there was no shortage of "refrigerants" for freezing delicacies. Even in Kievan Rus, we served finely planed frozen milk. In many villages, a mixture of frozen cottage cheese, sour cream, raisins and sugar was made for Shrovetide.
Ice cream was loved not only among the common people, it was widely represented in the menu at the courts of Peter III and Catherine II. The very technology of obtaining ice cream in those days was quite primitive and made it possible to obtain a small amount of the product. Only in the 19th century did the first ice cream machine appear in Russia. industrial production of ice cream in our country was born only in the early 30s of this century.
Initially, the production of ice cream was based on the use of natural ice and snow, thus humanity was in constant dependence on the vagaries of nature. But the ubiquitous technological progress has gradually transformed the production of ice cream, turning it from an exquisite delicacy of rich salons into a product accessible to everyone.
Archival materials allow us to restore the chronology of discoveries in the field of ice cream production. Today it became known that as far back as 1525, the doctor from Apilia Cimara wrote about the cooling effect of saltpeter. However, the production of ice cream in relatively large volumes became possible only after the introduction of sufficiently productive methods for obtaining and storing ice, cooling devices and machines with mixers and crushers.
In 1834, American John Perkin patented the idea of using ether in a compressor apparatus. 10 years later, the Englishman Thomas Masters received a patent for an ice cream machine, which was a tin jug with a rotating three-blade spatula, surrounded by ice, snow, or a mixture of one of them with salt, ammonium salts, saltpeter, ammonium nitrates or calcium chloride. According to the patent description, Masters' machine could cool, as well as simultaneously freeze and whip ice cream.
In 1848 two ice cream machines were patented in the USA. One of them consisted of a device with two concentric cylinders, one of which was filled with refrigerant. In 1860, Ferdinand Carré created the world's first absorption refrigeration machine, powered by liquid and solid absorbent. Four years later, Carré improved the compression machine, in which for the first time a new refrigerant, ammonia, was used.
Thus, the technique and technology of industrial production of ice cream has been constantly improved. In a number of countries, specialized firms began to be created for the production of machines and equipment for the production of ice cream, which has become a common attribute of urban cafes. But behind this common occurrence was rapid scientific progress in the study of cooling processes. It was he who allowed some firms to master the production of machines and equipment for the industrial production of ice cream.
Sources: allcafe.info, innovatory.narod.ru, kuking.net,
pictures from open sources of the network.
14 039
Ice cream is a very ancient delicacy. The history of the invention of the most popular dessert goes back to the time of the most ancient civilizations of Asia - China and Mesopotamia. Ice cream was admired by Alexander the Great, Napoleon and George Washington, and several people patented it at once.
It is believed that the history of ice cream goes back over 5,000 years.
As far back as 3000 BC, in the rich houses of China, desserts were served at the table, vaguely reminiscent of ice cream - rich Chinese enjoyed snow and ice mixed with slices of oranges, lemons and pomegranate seeds. The Chinese emperor Tanggu even came up with his own recipe for making mixtures of ice and milk. Recipes and storage methods were kept secret and were declassified only in the 11th century BC in the book "Shi-king" - the canonical collection of ancient songs.
Another ancient source describing the use of chilled juices during harvesting is the letters of Solomon, king of Israel. The tradition of eating ice cream was adopted by the ancient Arabs. Also, the ancient Greeks consumed chilled wines, juices and dairy products, and other civilizations followed them. Recommended ice cream to improve health and the famous ancient physician Hippocrates.
Ice cream was served to the greatest commander of antiquity, Alexander the Great, during his campaigns in India and Persia. In his time, they came up with the idea of freezing berries in the snow. Slaves were sent to the mountains for snow, and so that it would not melt, they organized special relay races. By the way, it was his soldiers who came up with the idea of adding wine, honey and milk to water with fruits.
Snow and ice have been used to make fruit drinks since ancient Rome. In his book "On Culinary Art", the famous Italian culinary specialist Apicius first shared his experience in preparing soft drinks.
Cold desserts rounded off meals at the court of Emperor Nero, who ordered mountain ice to be brought to him and mixed with fruit additives. In his era (1st century AD), chilled and sweetened juices were already widely used. It is noteworthy that snow for their preparation was delivered from remote alpine glaciers, and for long-term storage of snow, capacious ice cellars were built.
There are many interesting ice cream related stories associated with ice cream. For example, in 780 A.D. e. Caliph Al Mahdi managed to deliver a whole caravan of camels loaded with mountain snow to Mecca. Another no less striking fact, cited in the writings of the Persian traveler Nassiri-Khozrau, says that in 1040 A.D. e. snow for making drinks and ice cream was brought to the table of the Sultan of Cairo daily from the mountainous regions of Syria.
It is obvious that ice cream was invented where, as in China, exhaustingly hot places coexist with areas with sub-zero temperatures. This combination is inherent in southern countries in which there are mountain ranges. For example, Iran, where mountains occupy more than half of the territory.
It is known that people there have learned to use ice and snow rationally since ancient times. In desert areas, where the temperature during the day can reach 40 ° C, it was necessary to somehow cool the food, otherwise it would spoil very quickly. For this, the Persians built the so-called yakhchaly - deep cellars, the ceiling, walls and floor of which they covered with a thick layer of heat-insulating mixture. It included egg whites, sand, clay, goat hair, ash, lime. When this substance dried, it also became waterproof. To minimize heat loss, the entrance to the yakhchal was located in the north, in a dark, cool place. Such storages were filled with ice-covered blocks of snow brought from the mountains. They were also used to make a kind of ice cream, falude - a mixture of noodles, fruits, pistachios, rose or lemon syrup with finely chopped ice.
Europe
According to legend, Marco Polo brought back from his trip to the East a recipe for a delicacy, for which not only snow, but also saltpeter was used to cool it. And since then, a dish similar to sherbet has certainly been present on the menu of aristocrats.
It was then that ice cream was at the center of intrigue: the chefs kept the recipe in the strictest confidence, and for the uninitiated, its production was akin to a miracle. At first, ice was stored in special closed places and served only for royal families and popes. Gradually, the production of ice became cheaper.
The ice cream recipe, which is closest to the modern one, was also born in Italy. And to be more precise - in Sicily. The largest island in the Mediterranean has everything you need to create a chilling dessert. First of all - not common in other parts of Europe, sugar cane, from which sugar was made.
A sweetener known since antiquity - honey is not very suitable for making ice cream, because when it freezes it crystallizes (and this is just not required, the problem that the liquid turns into crystals is enough). In addition, poultry and cattle have always been bred in Sicily, which means that eggs and milk - the main ingredients for ice cream dessert - were always at hand. But one of the most important conditions is that there is ice here (on the mountain ranges of Iblei, Nebrodi, Le Madonie, on the Peloritan Mountains). Sicilian ice was supplied throughout Italy and exported to Malta. Finally, the inhabitants of this island have long mined sea salt. Until the invention of refrigerators and electric ice cream makers, it was indispensable.
To make it clear why salt is needed in the preparation of a sweet dish, it should be explained how ice cream differs from other cold desserts - from the aforementioned Persian falude or from frozen milk, from which in Siberian villages they scraped chips with a knife and ate with honey, jam or sugar.
The difference is in the consistency: ice cream, even if it contains pieces of nuts, fruits or cookies, is a homogeneous, smooth, creamy mass. Such homogeneity can be achieved only by continuously stirring the cooling substance so that crystals do not form in it. It is difficult to combine cooling and stirring without the help of electricity: ice melts slowly, and ice cream freezes just as slowly. It will have to be continuously stirred for many hours in a row. Salt, on the other hand, makes the ice melt much faster, and in doing so, it takes heat from the environment, in particular from the mixture intended for freezing.
So, here is the simplest ice cream production technology that has been successfully used for several centuries: a container with ingredients was placed in a bowl filled with ice and salt, and the milk mass was whipped. Melt water was periodically drained, adding new ice and a portion of salt. And after a couple of hours the dessert was ready.
However, everything secret sooner or later becomes clear. And so it happened when the young Catherine de Medici, having married the French King Henry II, brought her chef from Italy to France - the famous Bentalenti, a recognized authority in the preparation of ice cream and soft drinks.
For the first time, he treated ice cream on October 28, 1533 at a feast in honor of the marriage of the 14-year-old bride Catherine de Medici, best known for the novel Queen Margot by Alexandre Dumas père. Ice cream was ice balls with fruits. In the future, the Medici often began to treat them to guests at gala dinners and pamper her son Henry III with delicacy.
The new dessert instantly won the sympathy of the French court. The king's advisers even demanded that the Italian prepare ice cream in their presence, and, having familiarized themselves with the process, decided to consider the technology and recipe a state secret that should be properly guarded, especially from commoners.
Quite quickly, ice cream from Versailles migrated to the estates of French nobles - despite the most severe prohibitions on disclosing the recipe, which was considered a state secret.
Since then, at the French court, ice cream has been eaten in myriad quantities. Even such a gourmet as Louis XIV did not refuse it. In 1649, the French culinary specialist Gerard Tissain came up with an original recipe for frozen vanilla cream - from milk and cream. The novelty was called "Neapolitan ice cream". After that, the recipe for an ice dessert was constantly updated.
Many new varieties of this dessert were invented in France during the reign of Queen Anne of Austria. Once, at one of the banquets in honor of her son Louis XIV, each guest was served an ostrich egg in a gilded glass, which in fact turned out to be delicious ice cream.
In America, the recipes for preparing this delicacy came, apparently, in the 18th century, along with English settlers. At receptions hosted by Maryland Governor William Blade in those years, guests were treated to popsicles and soft drinks. Many US presidents were also fond of cold desserts, for example, George Washington, who personally made ice cream at his ranch on the outskirts of Mount Vernon.
And the culinary entrepreneur Philip Lenzi, who arrived in the New World, even advertised in New York newspapers that he had brought recipes for various sweets from London, including ice cream, and soon many fans of the new delicacy appeared among the population of the east coast of America.
And ice cream became publicly available thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit, again, of the Italians. In 1660, Francesco Procopio Di Coltelli (1651-1727) opened the first ice cream parlor in Paris opposite the Comédie Française. In his homeland, in Palermo, he was a fisherman. In France, he decided to try his luck in the "sweet" field, especially since he inherited from his grandfather an ice cream churning machine. As far as one can judge, it was a primitive device: two pans inserted one into the other, a handle with mixing paddles was attached to the top lid.
In 1782, this café, renamed Prokop in French fashion, offered customers up to eighty varieties of ice cream. The establishment continues to thrive to this day.
This cafe under such a "Russian" name exists today. The old menu has also been preserved, in which you can read what was prepared within the walls of this institution in the 18th century: “frozen waters” with various syrups (apparently, something like modern Italian granite), cold berry sorbets, fruit ice cream. The popularity of the cafe "Prokop" was added by the fact that the owner received royal patents for many delicacies that were served only there. As a result, many famous figures of the 18th-19th centuries visited the cafe: Diderot, Rousseau, Marat, Robespierre, Dr. Guillotin, George Sand, Balzac, Danton.
Napoleon Bonaparte was among the regulars at the Prokop cafe. He fell in love with icy sweets so much that even in exile to the island of St. Helena he ordered for himself an apparatus for making them, which one compassionate Englishwoman was not slow to send him.
Coltelli found a lot of followers: soon small restaurants specializing in ice cream filled the whole of Paris. There were especially many of them in the Palais Royal quarter. And already in 1676, 250 Parisian confectioners united in a corporation of ice cream workers, during these years they began to produce ice cream all year round.
Under Napoleon III (1852 - 1870), ice cream in cups and ice cream were first produced in Paris (the famous ice cream allegedly comes from the French city of Plobière-Les-Behemes), in Italy - great lovers of mixing the most incredible products, came up with assorted ice cream with additions of fruits, nuts, liquor, pieces of cookies and even flowers, in Austria - coffee glace and chocolate ice cream. At this time, frozen whipped cream mixed with finely chopped almonds and maraschino, puff ice cream with strawberries and grated dome-shaped chocolate appear. New varieties of ice cream prepared on the occasion of celebrations were quickly adopted in mass production.
So, at one of the receptions of the Chinese mission in Paris in 1866, a new dessert was offered - a hot omelette on the outside, ginger ice cream on the inside. It was the so-called "surprise omelette", which was developed by German chefs. It remains only to guess how many original and even unique ice cream recipes were born by the ingenuity of the human genius. Unfortunately, history remains silent about many of them.
Russia
In Russia, people have long used their own types of ice cream, since in cold winters there was no shortage of “refrigerants” for freezing treats. Even in Kievan Rus, we served finely planed frozen milk. In Siberian villages, to this day, housewives store milk, freezing it in saucers and ... stacking ice. In many villages, a mixture of frozen cottage cheese, sour cream, raisins and sugar was made for Shrovetide.
In the "European" version, ice cream appeared in our country in the middle of the 18th century and immediately gained great popularity. So, Count Litta, the envoy of the Order of Malta in Russia, who later took Russian citizenship, ate almost nothing but ice cream. They say that even before his death, after taking communion, he ordered ten servings of the best ice cream to be served to him: "There will be no such thing in paradise."
Ice cream was loved not only among the common people, it was widely represented in the menu at the courts of Peter III and Catherine II. The very technology of obtaining ice cream in those days was quite primitive and made it possible to obtain a small amount of the product.
In the memoirs of the 19th century, one can find enthusiastic memories of the effect that the Vesuvius on Mont Blanc dessert had on the public (ice cream was doused with rum or cognac and set on fire) or the colorful ruins of an ancient temple made of ice cream of different colors. Creating these masterpieces, confectioners froze for many hours in the cold, and delicacies “lived” for a few minutes, because they immediately began to melt from the heat of stoves and candles.
Only in the 19th century did the first ice cream machine appear in Russia. industrial production of ice cream in our country was born only in the early 30s of this century.
industrial scale
Ice cream, made by hand, was an expensive pleasure, and therefore inaccessible. Sometimes the passion for this delicacy led to real tragedies. For example, in 1883, at a Baptist holiday in the American city of Camden, 59 people were poisoned to death by ice cream. True, it was not ordinary ice cream, but ... reusable.
After all, everyone wanted to enjoy the sweetness, but not many could afford it. So there were inventions like "Smith's Cotton Ice Cream" - a cone of pressed cotton wool or "Brown's Methodist Ice Cream" - a rubber cone. The trick was that some sweetened milk was sprinkled on the cone and licked, imagining that they were holding real ice cream. According to the New York Times, which reported on the unfortunate incident of poisoning, the unfortunate Baptists did not understand and chewed the imitations of ice cream clean.
Initially, the production of ice cream was based on the use of natural ice and snow, thus humanity was in constant dependence on the vagaries of nature. But the ubiquitous technological progress has gradually transformed the production of ice cream, turning it from an exquisite delicacy of rich salons into a product accessible to everyone. Archival materials allow us to restore the chronology of discoveries in the field of ice cream production. Today it became known that as far back as 1525, the doctor from Apilia Cimara wrote about the cooling effect of saltpeter. However, the production of ice cream in relatively large volumes became possible only after the introduction of sufficiently productive methods for obtaining and storing ice, cooling devices and machines with mixers and crushers.
In 1834, American John Perkin patented the idea of using ether in a compressor apparatus. 10 years later, the Englishman Thomas Masters received a patent for an ice cream machine, which was a tin jug with a rotating three-blade spatula, surrounded by ice, snow, or a mixture of one of them with salt, ammonium salts, saltpeter, ammonium nitrates or calcium chloride. According to the patent description, Masters' machine could cool, as well as simultaneously freeze and whip ice cream.
In 1843, an Englishwoman, Nancy Johnson, invented a hand-held ice cream maker and patented it. The manual freezer for making ice cream was invented by Nancy Johnson in 1846, but she did not have enough money to organize the production of new equipment. The patent had to be sold to the Americans. In 1851, the first factory opened in Baltimore and the first industrial batch of ice cream was produced. And for more than 150 years, the process of improving recipes and technologies has not stopped for a single day.
The manual ice cream freezer was invented by Nancy Johnson in 1843.
In 1848 two ice cream machines were patented in the USA. One of them consisted of a device with two concentric cylinders, one of which was filled with refrigerant. In 1860, Ferdinand Carré created the world's first absorption refrigeration machine, powered by liquid and solid absorbent. Four years later, Carré improved the compression machine, in which for the first time a new refrigerant, ammonia, was used.
Serial production of freezers began in the second half of the 19th century by Jacob Fussell in Baltimore. A little later, refrigeration machines were invented, methods for producing and storing ice were developed, which made it possible to significantly reduce labor intensity, and, consequently, the cost of ice cream. And in 1904, in the city of St. Louis, an international ice cream exhibition was held, at which the first machine for the production of waffle cups was demonstrated.
Thus, the technique and technology of industrial production of ice cream has been constantly improved. In a number of countries, specialized firms began to be created for the production of machines and equipment for the production of ice cream, which has become a common attribute of urban cafes. But behind this common occurrence was rapid scientific progress in the study of cooling processes. It was he who allowed some firms to master the production of machines and equipment for the industrial production of ice cream.
In 1919, a teacher from Iowa, Christian Nilsson, developed a recipe and technology for the production of a new type of ice cream - covered with chocolate, and on January 24, 1922, he was granted a patent for the famous Eskimo - glazed ice cream on a stick. Nelson took his products around the cities and sold them while showing a film about the Eskimos. The novelty was first called "Eskimo Pie" - "Eskimo Pie", but this word was very quickly reduced to just "Eskimo".
However, the championship in the production of "eskimo" among the Americans is contested by the French.
The first glazed ice cream in 1921 was invented by Christian Nelsen from the state of Iowa, and his companion Stover gave it the name - "eskimo pie", that is, an Eskimo pie. In 1979, the French company Gervais even celebrated the 60th anniversary of the "eskimo". Until the beginning of the 20th century, Gervais specialized in the manufacture of cheeses, until one of its founders, Charles Gervais, tasted the popular fruit ice cream in America. After returning to France, he got the idea to cover the ice cream with chocolate icing and "plant" it on a stick. According to French sources, the name "eskimo" arose by chance. In one of the Parisian cinemas, where Gervais sold his sweet products, a film from the life of the Eskimos was shown. And since the repertoire of cinemas changed quite rarely in those days, one of the witty spectators who watched a film about the Eskimos several times and ate a dozen portions of chocolate-covered ice cream during this time called it "eskimo".
Thus, the technique and technology of industrial production of ice cream has been constantly improved. In a number of countries, specialized firms began to be created for the production of machines and equipment for the production of ice cream, which has become a common attribute of urban cafes. But behind this common occurrence was rapid scientific progress in the study of cooling processes. It was he who made it possible to master the production of machines and equipment for the industrial production of ice cream.
New varieties created to order on the occasion of the celebrations quickly became objects of mass production, especially in the United States. The first ice cream factory was founded in Baltimore, but very soon such enterprises appeared in New York, Washington and Chicago.
Modernity
N. Chernyshov "Novgorod Ice Cream Girl", 1928
Now ice cream has firmly won the tastes of people around the world and is sold in almost every grocery store. Chefs have created thousands of ice cream recipes!
And therefore the struggle for the buyer is not for life, but for death. The best and most expensive varieties are made from elite natural products based on the most modern technologies. The quality of such ice cream can be judged at least by the fact that, without any preservatives, it can be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of -20 ° C for up to two and a half years.
In pursuit of consumer demand, the leaders of the world market annually update their assortment, although there are already several thousand items of ice treats already. Among the hits of recent years are walnut ice cream, green tea ice cream, forest herb ice cream. Not to mention currant, blackberry, pineapple, special varieties based on live yoghurts ... It's impossible to list everything.
And soft ice cream - British scientists (whose group included the young Margaret Thatcher) came up with a way in which twice as much air is added to ice cream, and you get "soft" ice cream!
In the 1990s, thicker ice cream of the highest quality appeared. This category includes Ben and Jerry's, Beechdean and Haagen-Dazs. By the way, Ruben Mattus invented his ice cream back in 1960 and called it Haagen-Dazs because it sounds Danish.
Which one to choose?
In fact, any ice cream is a chilled whipped emulsion of a mixture of milk, possibly cream, sugar, sometimes eggs, often fruit juices, various fruits or vegetables (in Japan, even from fish and seafood) plus flavorings and various additives such as nuts or pieces of caramel.
Depending on the production method, ice cream is hardened, soft and homemade. Soft, with a temperature of 5–7 ° C, is made in restaurants and cafes on special equipment. You need to eat it right away, for the future such desserts are not prepared. It looks like a cream.
Hardened ice cream - industrial. It is divided into several groups - by the type of the main product and filler and by packaging. The main representatives of the "dairy" group - dairy, cream and ice cream - differ from each other in their fat content.
Other groups - fruit and berry or fruit and aromatic. There are also so-called amateur, or homemade, types - milk-based, fruit, milk-fruit, multi-layered, with egg white and even with confectionery fat.
Now for the specific numbers. The fattest ice cream is ice cream, its fat content is on average 12–15%.
It is named after the French city of Plombieres, where it was allegedly invented. Allegedly - because in France ice cream is made from English almond cream with the addition of whipped cream and candied fruit infused with cherry vodka. We, of course, have a simpler ice cream, but still - the fattest and most high-calorie ice cream.
Next - creamy, with a fat content of 8-10%, then - dairy, in which there is even less fat, only 2.8-3.5%. There are no milk fats in fruit and berry ice cream and fruit ice, because they are made from fresh and frozen fruits and berries, from puree, natural juices, marmalade and jams.
And, of course, every consumer is interested in the quality of ice cream. And it directly depends on its cost.
Firstly, because real, non-powdered, fresh and high-quality cream, various berries, fruits, chocolate and other natural ingredients are always more expensive than semi-finished products, concentrates and dyes. Secondly, equipment that allows you to maintain the quality of the original product is also an expensive pleasure, inaccessible to small firms.
And finally, this photo will tell about another use of ice cream without words:
1962, Cannes.
Federico Fellini's girlfriend - Anouk Aime treats paparazzi with ice cream 😉
Ice cream is a very favorite childhood treat and a popular dessert at lunches of all levels. Today, ice cream is also called a separate dairy product made on the basis of fats, and simply fruit juice frozen on a stick, and a frozen soft product made from berries and fruits (the so-called sorbet). Who invented ice cream?
It is impossible to name the person who invented this delicacy, since people have guessed to freeze dairy and sweet products for a very long time. It is known that in ancient China such a delicacy was served to the table 2000 years before the advent of our era. The existence of ice cream in ancient China is documented in the book “Shi-King” written in the 11th century BC, which contains ancient recipes for making this dessert.
There is also evidence of the use of frozen dairy products and fruit juices and wines by the ancient Greeks and Israelites, but China is most likely the birthplace of ice cream.
From China, recipes for making desserts like ice cream came to medieval Europe. The famous traveler Marco Polo brought them to Italy. Since it was expensive to store ice at that time, ice cream was a delicacy for the elite. The first published recipe for ice cream appeared in a cookbook published in 1718 in London. And ice cream, very similar to modern, was first made at the end of this century, in Paris, at the Tortoni cafe.
In Russia, there were no problems with frosts, and our ancestors learned to freeze milk from time immemorial. So a frozen mixture of cottage cheese, sour cream, raisins and sugar was very popular during the celebration of the famous pagan holiday Shrovetide. The recipe for modern ice cream came to Russia from Europe in the 18th century.
Today, ice cream is made in large quantities in cold stores and can be bought very easily, or you can cook it at home. For this, special electrical household appliances were invented, which are called home ice cream makers and are sold in the appropriate stores, for example, in Elektroklad.
Ice cream makers presented in Electroclade allow you to cook both traditional creamy ice cream known to everyone, as well as sorbets, bio ice cream and simply frozen yogurt, which is guaranteed to be free of dyes.
Having bought ice cream or making it yourself and enjoying its cool taste in hot weather, we often mentally thank the one who invented ice cream, but most likely the appearance of this dessert is the result of the collective thought of entire generations of culinary specialists.
