What is Ice Cream

Who doesn’t know what is ice cream? It is not only a food item but also a nostalgic emotion for everyone. An ice cream is a mix of milk, cream and sugar along with other ingredients, that is frozen to form a soft, gooey, creamy cold treat. It has been around since hundreds of years but gained widespread popularity and become a commonplace food item after the widespread use of artificial refrigeration. The explosive boost in the popularity of ice cream has encouraged a number of ice cream variations. Today when you ask what is an ice cream, you will have dozens of different varieties of ice cream including frozen custard, frozen yogurt, gelato and many other variations.

 

What is in an Ice Cream

According to the FDA standards, ice cream in the USA must contain 10-16% of milk fat. Ice creams with higher milk fat content generally have a much smoother texture because of the low water content and therefore having fewer ice crystals upon freezing. Ice creams having milk fat content less than 10% are called “ice milk” or more popularly, “low fat” ice cream.

Along with milk or cream, ice cream also contains stabilizers to help keep the texture of the mixture consistent. Sugar and sugar substitutes are added to give the ice cream its familiar sweet flavor. There are sugar less varieties of ice cream as well that rely on fruits and dairy sweeteners for their sweet flavor. Many artificial and natural flavors like vanilla, strawberry, mango etc are also added to tingle the taste buds in your mouth.

The Origins of Ice Cream

The initial origins of ice cream’s are known to reach back to the second century B.C., however there is no undisputable specific date of origin or place of invention or the inventor. Historical records show that Alexander the Great savoured snow and ice flavored with honey and nectar. Some references from the Bible also suggest that King Solomon was very fond of iced drinks during harvesting. In the reign of the Roman Empire, Nero Claudius Caesar (A.D. 54-86) is known to frequently send runners into the mountains for snow, which used to be consumed after being flavored with fruits and juices. In the early 16th century, Marco Polo returned to Italy from his expedition to the Far East with a recipe including ice and flavors that resembled modern day sherbet. Historians have given an estimate that it was this recipe that evolved into ice cream sometime in the 16th century.

How Ice Cream Reached the Masses

Until the 19 century, ice cream used to be a rare and exotic food which cost a lot and could be enjoyed mostly by the wealthy and influential people. After the invention of insulated ice houses in 1802, i ice cream started showing signs of entering the commonplace systems. The ice cream manufacturing business soon became a widespread industry in America, led by Jacob Fussell, a Baltimore milk dealer in 1851. Just like most other American industries, ice cream production increased because of technological innovations during the industrial revolution that included steam power, mechanical refrigeration, the homogenizer, electric power and motors, packing machines, and new freezing technologies. All this made ice cream cheap and brought it within the reach of the common people who readily accepted and the same is still going on. 

An ice cream has become the most enjoyable sweet delight in today’s world. Now nobody needs to ask what is ice cream. Everyone knows the taste, the feel and the memories of childhood created with an ice cream cone. Come to The Gelato Cone and revisit those memories with the healthy and super delicious cone of gelato ice cream.

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