<ul>
<li>1674: The French author Nicolas Lemery cites the first recipe in French for aromatised ice.</li>
<li>1685 - 1686: Scientist and poet Francesco Redi wrote in his poem Arianna inferma "Let cellars and ice-jugs be at the ready, and decanters packed to the neck is crystalline snow." </li>
<li>1692 - 1694: Well-organised recipes for making sorbets were written by Antonio Latini, chef du table, and director of the kitchens for a Spanish viceroy in Naples. One chapter had detailed descriptions for how to mix snow with sugar, salt, lemon juice, strawberries, cherries, and chocolate. He also mentioned a "sorbet made of cooked milk."</li>
</ul>

In Cream: The 1600s

The first ice cream factories opened in the USA before the war. In Italy, pre-confectioned ice cream was a post-war delicacy.
In recent years, home-made or artisan ice-cream has become increasingly sophisticated in technique and ingredients.

Ice Cream: From 1945 Until Today

<ul>
<li>Ancient Rome had special wells to store ice and snow. The ruins of Pompeii left traces to make us think that some shops specialised in selling crushed ice sweetened with honey.</li>
<li>In China and Japan, ice was gathered to preserve food. During the Tang Dynasty, a drink was recorded, consisting of milk cooked with flour and camphor, ten placed in iron containers, and buried in snow.</li>
<li>Before the Incas conquered the Caranquis, large blocks of ice were brought down from the top of the volcano. A large cauldron was filled with ice, snow, and fruit juice (and sometimes milk), and mixed until the juices and ice froze together.</li>
</ul>

Ice Cream: The Early Days

<ul>
<li>1896: Italo Marchioni begins to serve and sell cone-shaped wafer cups in New York. He patents his method of making them in 1903.</li>
<li>1902: In Great Britain, Antonio Valvona patented an oven for baking "biscuit cups for ice creams."</li>
<li>1904 St. Louis World Fair: Syrian Ernest A. Hamwi decided to curve his wafers to make them cone-shaped and offered them to replace ice creams sold on a plate.</li>
<li>1920: The advent of ice cream vans. Harry Burt is the first to sell strolling ice creams on a stick. He bought vans with refrigeration units to supply the whole Mahoning Valley in Ohio.</li>
<li>1923: Californian Frank Epperson patents a "frozen ice on a stick" and later named it Pop's Icle.</li>
<li>1927: Otello Cattabriga from Bologna developed a mechanical system similar for churning butter. He manufactured the "electric motor-ice-cream-makers" on an industrial scale.</li>
<li>1938: J.F. McCullough and Alex McCullough invented soft ice cream. They realised that ice cream tasted better before it was entirely frozen and developed a system that allowed more air in the ice cream.</li>
</ul>

Ice Cream In The 1900s

The first ice cream cup was found in Egypt in a tomb in 2700BC.
It was a kind of mould made from two silver cups, one of which contained snow or crushed ice, and the other cooked fruit.

The first Ice Cream Cup

<ul>
<li>1843: Nancy M. Johnson creates and patents an "artificial freezer" to make iced products. Two years later, William Young added a motor.</li>
<li>1851: Jacob Fussel poured leftover cream and milk into the 'artificial freezer,' and later opens the first ice cream factory.</li>
<li>1881: The beginning of the Sundae: cups of vanilla ice cream with various syrups and decorations on top.</li>
<li>1884: In Turin, the Gelateria Pepino ice cream parlour opens and dry ice is used to transport ice cream.</li>
</ul>

Ice Cream: The 1800s

<ul>
<li>1769 - 1770: By the late 1700s, wafers rolled into a cone shape were served at the end of the meal or along with fruit and pastries.</li>
<li>1770: Giovanni Basiolo brought ice cream to New York. He sold Panera, a semi-frozen coffee and milk product popular in Genoa.</li>
<li>1775: Doctor Filippo Baldini from Naples published the book, 'Sorbets and frozen products, the medical and physical benefits.'</li>
<li>1782: Iced products are served when George Washington inaugurates the celebrations for the birth of a new heir to the French throne. Iced products were served throughout the summer at other events and became habitual.</li>
</ul>

Ice Cream: The 1700s

<ul>
<li>One legend claims that the Medici family organised a competition for the most original culinary recipes. It was won by a chicken seller (a Ruggeri) who submitted a composition of water, sugar, and fruit. It is thought that Catherine de' Medici brought Ruggeri and his ice cream arts across the Alps.</li>
<li>Another half legend is about the architect Bernardo Buontalenti, who invented an iced dessert for Charles V of Spain in 1559, at a famous inaugural fest for the Belvedere Fort of Cosimo I de' Medici. His recipe is recorded as cold cream made of milk, honey, egg yolk, a sprinkle of wine, aromatised with bergamot, lemon, and orange.</li>
</ul>

Ice Cream Legends

What was the first ice cream flavour? Who invented the ice cream cone? Let's answer these and other questions by revisiting the facts and history of this irresistible delicacy.