Saturday, October 12, 2013

Ice Cream: A Brief History

By Marquerite Velasquez


Ice cream is definitely one of the most popular treats in the world. This cool confection has been around in one form or another for more than 1,000 years. The Chinese were known to serve a treat made from frozen milk and rice as early as 200 BC, and ancient Arabs also were known to mix frozen milk with sugar to make a sweet treat. In China and Ancient Rome, fresh fruit often was used to sweeten and flavor these frozen creations.

The form of ice cream we eat now has been around since at least the 1600s and appeared in cookbooks in England and the American colonies during the 18th century. There were ice cream shops in England, New York City and other Colonial towns and cities during the early portion of the 18th century. Our first presidents, including Washington and Jefferson, both were quite fond of ice cream, and Dolley Madison made sure that ice cream, a favorite of her husband James, was part of his inauguration party menu. However, while it was popular, it wasn't easily accessible for most people because ice was not readily available.

In the early 1800s, ice houses were created, and this made it much easier for people to have ice at home and for businesses to have ice constantly on hand. Soda fountains began to spring up in big cities and many towns. Along with serving ice cream in a dish, the ice cream soda became quite popular with Americans. These sodas were considered too rich and self-indulgent to be served on the Sabbath, and some cities began passing laws against serving soda at all on Sunday. Enterprising soda fountain owners simply created the ice cream sundae and served this treat instead, altering the spelling slightly so as to show respect for the importance of the Sunday Sabbath.

The first ice cream cones were mentioned in a late 19th-century cookbook, and while they had been around for a while by that time, the cone gained popularity quickly after the 1904 St. Louis World Fair. As the legend goes, an ice cream vendor and waffle vendor were located next to each other. The ice cream vendor ran out of cardboard dishes for serving and because it was so hot, no one wanted to eat waffles. The waffle maker suggested that ice cream be placed in a rolled up waffle, and the crowds loved the treat. Today more than one billion gallons of ice cream are produced in the United States, not to mention a huge variety of other ice cream treats, making it one of the country's most popular dessert items.

Now that you've spent some time reading about ice cream, you probably want to find the best ice cream in your area and enjoy a cool ice cream treat. In Los Angeles, you will find the best ice cream options at YoKuMon, an ice cream shop in Culver City. The main attraction at YoKuMon is the ice cream sandwich, but these aren't just any ice cream sandwiches. These are culinary masterpieces that consist of gourmet ice cream pressed between two homemade cookies.

All of the cookies are baked fresh right on site, and you can mix and match any flavor of ice cream to any of the eight varieties of cookies. Best of all, each ice cream sandwich is just $2, so you can afford to treat the entire family. They also have smoothies, milkshakes, shaved ice and you can order just ice cream or just have a cookie. They also offer waffle ice cream sandwiches and plenty of toppings so that you customize your treat any way you like.




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