<p class="bodytext">Universally loved and cherished, ice cream, no matter what form or name – whether it is gelato or kulfi, sundae or the Japanese kakigori (shaved ice), has a global presence. There’s no one single origin story to the ice cream – much like the many flavours and forms, ice cream has a multitude of stories around its evolution. Here are some of them:</p>.<p class="bodytext"> Ice cream in the form of an iced drink can be traced back to the Romans and Greeks. A popular legend is that Emperor Nero relished an iced drink with a flavour of honey and wine. According to author Laura Weiss, who traces the history of ice cream in her book ‘Ice Cream - A Global History’, Mesopotamia had ice houses 4,000 years ago, where snow and ice were stored in pits. The book also notes that ice harvesting and storage to preserve food was prevalent around 1100 BC, indicating that the Chinese may have made some form of iced dessert.</p>.<p class="bodytext"> The book, ‘Ice Cream - The Delicious History’ by Marilyn Powell, notes that China’s T’ang rulers (seventh to tenth century AD) made a dish from milk mixed with rice and camphor that was chilled before it was served.</p>.Fermentation: A 9,000-year-old tradition that spans continents and cultures.<p class="bodytext"> Another popular origin story is that the Persians made frozen desserts by pouring fruit juice into snow, and later came up with falooda aka faludeh. </p>.<p class="bodytext"> Many attribute ice cream’s origin to sherbet, which has been made since the medieval period. According to ‘Of Sugar and Snow - A History of Ice Cream’ by Jeri Quinzio, the “Persians served sherbets over ice in large porcelain or gold bowls and sipped them from long-handled wooden spoons.” A popular legend, which remains in the realm of myth and has been debunked, is that Marco Polo travelled to China and returned with recipes for the Italian sorbetto or frozen desserts.</p>.<p class="bodytext"> In India, the kulfi was created during the Mughal era. ‘Ain-i-Akbari’, (by Abu’l Fazl) has a mention of the kulfi, made in the royal kitchen using khoya, notes Marilyn Powell in her book. ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ also describes the process of making ice, with the use of salt petre or potassium nitrate. It was only much later that cooks realised that even common salt could be used to make ice. </p>.<p class="bodytext"> The first hand-cranked ice cream maker was invented by American Nancy M Johnson, in the year 1843, for which she got a patent. </p>.<p class="bodytext"> The first English cookbook with an ice cream recipe is ‘Mrs Mary Eales’s Receipts’, published in 1718, according to Powell’s book. </p>.<p class="bodytext"><span class="italic">(</span><span class="bold">Origin Story</span> <span class="italic"> attempts to satiate your curiosity about the history of a certain ingredient or cuisine.)</span></p>
<p class="bodytext">Universally loved and cherished, ice cream, no matter what form or name – whether it is gelato or kulfi, sundae or the Japanese kakigori (shaved ice), has a global presence. There’s no one single origin story to the ice cream – much like the many flavours and forms, ice cream has a multitude of stories around its evolution. Here are some of them:</p>.<p class="bodytext"> Ice cream in the form of an iced drink can be traced back to the Romans and Greeks. A popular legend is that Emperor Nero relished an iced drink with a flavour of honey and wine. According to author Laura Weiss, who traces the history of ice cream in her book ‘Ice Cream - A Global History’, Mesopotamia had ice houses 4,000 years ago, where snow and ice were stored in pits. The book also notes that ice harvesting and storage to preserve food was prevalent around 1100 BC, indicating that the Chinese may have made some form of iced dessert.</p>.<p class="bodytext"> The book, ‘Ice Cream - The Delicious History’ by Marilyn Powell, notes that China’s T’ang rulers (seventh to tenth century AD) made a dish from milk mixed with rice and camphor that was chilled before it was served.</p>.Fermentation: A 9,000-year-old tradition that spans continents and cultures.<p class="bodytext"> Another popular origin story is that the Persians made frozen desserts by pouring fruit juice into snow, and later came up with falooda aka faludeh. </p>.<p class="bodytext"> Many attribute ice cream’s origin to sherbet, which has been made since the medieval period. According to ‘Of Sugar and Snow - A History of Ice Cream’ by Jeri Quinzio, the “Persians served sherbets over ice in large porcelain or gold bowls and sipped them from long-handled wooden spoons.” A popular legend, which remains in the realm of myth and has been debunked, is that Marco Polo travelled to China and returned with recipes for the Italian sorbetto or frozen desserts.</p>.<p class="bodytext"> In India, the kulfi was created during the Mughal era. ‘Ain-i-Akbari’, (by Abu’l Fazl) has a mention of the kulfi, made in the royal kitchen using khoya, notes Marilyn Powell in her book. ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ also describes the process of making ice, with the use of salt petre or potassium nitrate. It was only much later that cooks realised that even common salt could be used to make ice. </p>.<p class="bodytext"> The first hand-cranked ice cream maker was invented by American Nancy M Johnson, in the year 1843, for which she got a patent. </p>.<p class="bodytext"> The first English cookbook with an ice cream recipe is ‘Mrs Mary Eales’s Receipts’, published in 1718, according to Powell’s book. </p>.<p class="bodytext"><span class="italic">(</span><span class="bold">Origin Story</span> <span class="italic"> attempts to satiate your curiosity about the history of a certain ingredient or cuisine.)</span></p>