I scream, you scream, everybody wants ice cream

Confession time: I've been thinking about ice cream a lot lately. And gelato. And sorbet. Mmmm... In my defence I was writing a story on the history of ice cream for this month's Open House magazine, but I'm not sure that explains my frequent detours past the freezer cabinet in the supermarket! And don't even get me started on the delights of Glace on Marion Street, Leichhardt...

The story is below, if you're interested. While you're reading it, I'll just be up the road buying a tub of Maggie Beer's Lemon & Orange Curd Ice Cream...

Origins of ... ice cream

With temperatures soaring and the holiday season upon us, it’s no surprise that sales of ice-cream, gelato and sorbet increase over summer. Australians are amongst the biggest per capita consumers of ice cream, eating 18 litres each every year, in cones and cups, made into parfaits, sundaes and desserts such as Bombe Alaska and as an accompaniment for other desserts.

There are many unsubstantiated legends surrounding the history of ice cream. One commonly repeated tale is that Marco Polo introduced ice cream to Italy in the 13th Century after visiting China. Another has the Italian Duchess Catherine de Medici introducing sorbet to the French court in 1533 when she married the Duc d’Orleans, later to become King Henry II. One hundred years later, Charles I of England is said to have offered his French chef a pension of £500 a year if he kept the recipe of “frozen snow” a secret, ensuring that it would only be served at the Royal table.

What is certain is that Chinese invented sorbet and a type of ice cream made from milk and rice as long ago as 3000 BC, coming up with a method of immersing containers filled with a syrupy mixture in a mixture of ice and salt to lower the temperature of the mixture below freezing point. Insulated underground chambers called ice houses were used to conserve ice throughout the summer months.

From China it is likely that the technique spread to Ancient Persia and the Arab world and then North into Europe. Records show that the Roman Emperor Nero enjoyed iced confections made from snow flavoured with fruit and honey.

Ice cream made from milk was first recorded in Europe in Italy and then France in the 17th century. The first published English recipe was in Mrs Mary Eales Receipts in 1718. Early ice creams were simply flavoured and sweetened cream that was frozen but recipes soon became more sophisticated and the technique of periodic stirring to prevent the formation of ice crystals and improve the texture became common.

As ice cream manufacture depended on a supply of ice, it was a rare and expensive treat enjoyed only by Europe’s aristocracy until the 19th Century when the commercial harvesting of ice took off. With large quantities of ice available it became possible for coffee shops and street vendors to sell inexpensive serves of ice cream to ordinary people. Italy continued to lead the world in ice cream making and Italian emigrants helped spread the word. Popular flavours of the period included vanilla, peach, raspberry, apricot and lemon.

In 1843, American Nancy Johnson invented a hand-cranked ice cream freezer, which simplified the process of making ice cream but it wasn’t until cheap refrigeration became common in the 20th Century that ice cream really came into its own.

In Australia, both ice cream and Italian-style gelato are common. The main differences are that gelato has a lower fat content than ice cream (around 4-8% compared to 16-26%), has a denser, creamier texture, and is served at warmer temperature so it can be more easily molded than ice cream. Sorbets on the other hand are made from fresh fruit, water and sugar and contain no dairy. While vanilla is the most widely consumed flavour, it is possible to make ice cream, gelato and sorbets from ingredients as diverse as earl grey tea, whiskey, avocado, wasabi and beetroot with balsamic vinegar. Three Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal once famously served Bacon & Egg ice cream, proving imagination is the only limit.