I landed on ice cream as my humorous finale last week, so I thought let’s go with it this week. I will start out by saying that you can google almost anything…except for the first person or culture who created ice cream. In the amazing creativeness of mankind – and our love of food – it appears to have sprung up from many different places, beginning (possibly) in China and as early as 550 B.C. (Some accounts said since at least 4000 B.C.) But we don’t know for sure. From sweetened drinks chilled with ice (we think nothing of this now, but way back it was a huge treat) and desserts sprinkled with snow and fruit to Turkish sherbert, Italian ices, and frozen custard, which eventually all morphed to our modern-day creamy version – with pretty much any flavor you want – to the less classified "frozen dairy dessert" which basically allows anything frozen with less or no cream content to be included. And this, our present-day ice cream, all began with salt. Yes, salt. Cream cannot be frozen, but it was discovered that with an addition of salt, which lowers the melting point of ice, cream can freeze (the endothermic effect).
After alcohol was banned on all naval vessels during World War I (July 1, 1914), the US Navy carried ice cream on operational bombing raids to boost morale. They even repurposed a concrete barge from the US Army to create a floating ice cream factory to make it accessible to all servicemen no matter how small their vessel. During times of war (or even heavy trials), the smallest comforts or luxuries can make a big difference on how we can cope.
Another interesting fact is that American fighter pilots based in the South Pacific attached pairs of 5-US-gallon cans fitted with a small propeller to their aircraft. The cans spun by the slipstream and drove stirrer, which agitated the ice cream mixture while the intense cold of the high altitude froze it. As for classic last meals, survivors from a shipwreck told the tale that the men ate ice cream from their helmets before lowering themselves into the ocean. Wow. We take so much for granted, don’t we?
Even though we hate scooping it, the best quality ice cream is the hard stuff. The harder the better made it is. Soft ice cream was created in the 20th century by mixing more air in the cream which reduced costs. It is a favorite of mine, but it makes me wonder if I am more thirsty than hungry as I prefer it to the heavier ice creams. Hmmm. Or should I say, yummm.
Ice cream. Good for the soul, not so much for the body. So, do you have your keys in hand or your walking shoes on for a trip to the neighborhood ice cream parlor yet?
Ancient History: The Origin and History of Ice Cream, Explored; USA Today: Kristen Apolline Castillo; War History Online: The Surprisingly Sweet Role Ice Cream Played During; WWII, Elisabeth Edwards, Guest Author Oct 18, 2022; Wikipedia
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