Summer Food

Ice-cream: born in China

A fascinating look at how ice-cream has travelled from the Far East to Europe, and from the highest peaks to our deep freezers


By MARA MONTES VICENTE
Story from CAFE BABEL


The Italians have taken the credit for it, but it was actually in China where it was discovered that snow was more than just a tool for preserving foods. It was a simple bowl of snow with a squeeze of lemon that became the very first sorbet.

Ice cream started out as fruit and a bit of ice, similar to the dish that Alexander the Great and Nero once enjoyed, and which has now become an endless source of inspiration for prestigious chefs. The person in charge of launching ice cream's world travels was Marco Polo, who brought it to Europe. It's for that reason that the Spanish name for ice lolly is polo. Of course there were the kings and queens, the only ones for some time who were privileged enough to taste it. They introduced France, Italy and England to ice-cream. In each country, the recipe changed: the French added an egg, in the English court they started experimenting with milk (under the guidance of a French cook), and the Italians made ice-cream popular.

The Americans came into the picture later on, but they quickly hit the nail on the head. In 1846, Nancy Johnson created the first automatic ice cream maker. That was the beginning of mass-produced ice creams which started to encroach on the territory of artisans, but a sign that read 'artisanal ice cream' still attracted much attention from those with a sweet tooth. It was easy to note a difference in the texture, quality and nutrients of artisanal treats. Any good ice-cream maker will say that ice cream is as healthy as any other food.

Vanilla and chocolate continue to be the star flavours of the summer, but who can resist trying a cactus sorbet or a gorgonzola ice cream? We can only hope it doesn't go as far as beer-flavoured gelato, but innovation is always happening where this icy treat is concerned.

Enjoy!


(Published: 10.09.2008.)