Ice cream

Ice creamis afrozen desserttypically made frommilkorcreamthat has been flavoured with asweetener, eithersugaror an alternative, and aspice, such ascocoaorvanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches.Food colouringis sometimes added in addition tostabilizers. The mixture is cooled below the freezing point of water and stirred to incorporate air spaces and prevent detectableice crystalsfrom forming. It can also be made bywhiskinga flavoured cream base andliquid nitrogentogether. The result is a smooth, semi-solidfoamthat is solid at very low temperatures (below 2 °C or 35 °F). It becomes moremalleableas its temperature increases.
Ice cream may be served in dishes, eaten with a spoon, or licked from edible waferice cream conesheld by the hands asfinger food. Ice cream may be served with other desserts—such ascakeorpie—or used as an ingredient in cold dishes—likeice cream floats,sundaes,milkshakes, andice cream cakes—or in baked items such asBaked Alaska.
Italian ice cream isgelato.Frozen custardis a type of rich ice cream.Soft serveis softer and is often served at amusement parks and fast-food restaurants in the United States. Ice creams made from cow's milk alternatives, such asgoat'sorsheep's milk, or milk substitutes (e.g.,soy,oat,cashew,coconut,almond milk, ortofu), are available for those who arelactose intolerant, allergic to dairy protein, orvegan.Banana"nice cream"is a 100% fruit-based vegan alternative.Frozen yoghurt, or "froyo", is similar to ice cream but usesyoghurtand can be lower in fat. Fruitysorbetsorsherbetsare not ice creams but are often available in ice cream shops.
The meaning of the nameice creamvaries from one country to another. In some countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom,ice creamapplies only to a specific variety, and most governments regulate the commercial use of the various terms according to the relative quantities of the main ingredients, notably the amount of cream.Products that do not meet the criteria to be called ice cream are sometimes labelled "frozen dairy dessert" instead.In other countries, such as Italy and Argentina, one word is used for all variants.
The origins of frozen desserts are obscure, although several accounts exist about their history. Some sources say the history of ice cream begins in Persia in 550 BC.
ARoman cookbookdating back to the 1st century includes recipes for sweet desserts that are sprinkled with snow,and there are Persian records from the 2nd century for sweetened drinks chilled with ice.
Kakigōriis a Japanese dessert made with ice and flavoured syrup. The origins ofkakigōridate back to theHeian periodin Japanese history, when blocks of ice saved during the colder months would be shaved and served with sweet syrup to the Japanese aristocracy during the summer.Kakigōri's origin is referred to inThe Pillow Book, a book of observations written bySei Shōnagon, who served the Imperial Court during the Heian period.
The earliest known written process to artificially make ice is known not from culinary texts, but the 13th-century writings of Syrian historianIbn Abu Usaybiain his book “Kitab Uyun al-anba fi tabaqat-al-atibba“ (Book of Sources of Information on the Classes of Physicians) concerning medicine in which Ibn Abu Usaybi’a attributes the process to an even older author, Ibn Bakhtawayhi, of whom nothing is known.
Ice cream production became easier with the discovery of theendothermiceffect.Prior to this, cream could be chilled easily but not frozen. The addition of salt lowered the melting point of ice, drawing heat from the cream and allowing it to freeze.
In the 16th century, theMughal Empireused relays of horsemen to bring ice from theHindu Kushto its capital,Delhi, used to createkulfi, a popular frozen dairy dessert from the Indian subcontinent often described as traditional Indian ice cream.
The technique of freezing was not known from any European sources prior to the 16th century.During the 16th century, authors made reference to the refrigerant effect that happened when salt was added to ice. By the latter part of the 17th century sorbets and ice creams were made using this process.
Ice cream's spread throughout Europe is sometimes attributed to Moorish traders, but more oftenMarco Polo. Though it is not mentioned in any of his writings, Polo is often credited with introducingsorbet-style desserts to Italy after learning of them during his travels to China.According to a legend, the Italian duchessCatherine de' Mediciintroduced flavoured sorbet ices to France when she brought Italian chefs with her to France upon marrying theDuke of Orléans(Henry II of France) in 1533.No Italian chefs were present in France during the Medici period,and ice cream already existed in France before de Medici was born.One hundred years later,Charles I of Englandwas reportedly so impressed by the "frozen snow" that he offered his own ice cream maker a lifetimepensionin return for keeping the formula secret, so that ice cream could be aroyal prerogative.There is no evidence to support these legends.
In 1665, theCatalogue des Marchandises rares..., edited inMontpellierby Jean Fargeon,listed a type of frozen sorbet. While the composition of this sorbet is not provided, Fargeon specified that it was consumed frozen using a container that was plunged into a mixture of ice and saltpetre. These sorbets were transported in pots made of clay and sold for three livres per pound.
According toL'Isle des Hermaphrodites,the practice of cooling drinks with ice and snow had already emerged inParis, particularly in the court, during the 16th century. The narrator notes that his hosts stored ice and snow, which they later added to their wine. This practice slowly progressed during the reign ofLouis XIIIand was likely a necessary step towards the creation of ice cream.In 1682,Le Nouveau confiturier françoisprovided a recipe for a specific type of ice cream, called"neige de fleur d'orange".
In 1686, ItalianFrancesco dei Coltelliopened an ice cream café in Paris, and the product became so popular that during the next 50 years, another 250 cafés opened in Paris.
The first recipe inFrenchfor flavoured ices appears in 1674, inNicholas Lemery'sRecueil de curiositéz rares et nouvelles de plus admirables effets de la nature.Recipes forsorbettisaw publication in the 1694 edition of Antonio Latini'sLo Scalco alla Moderna(The Modern Steward).Recipes for flavoured ices begin to appear in François Massialot'sNouvelle Instruction pour les Confitures, les Liqueurs, et les Fruits, starting with the 1692 edition. Massialot's recipes result in a coarse, pebbly texture. Latini claims that the results of his recipes should have the fine consistency of sugar and snow.
The first recorded mention of ice cream in England was in 1671.Elias Ashmoledescribed the dishes served at the Feast of St George at Windsor for Charles II in 1671 and included "one plate of ice cream".The only table at the banquet with ice cream on it was that of the King.The first recipe for ice cream in English was published inMrs. Mary Eales's Receipts,a book dedicated to confectionary, inLondonin 1718:
The 1751 edition ofThe Art of Cookery made Plain and EasybyHannah Glasseincludes a recipe for ice cream: "H. GLASSE Art of Cookery (ed. 4) 333 (heading) To make Ice Cream...set it [the cream] into the larger Bason. Fill it with Ice, and a Handful of Salt."L'Art de Bien Faire les Glaces d'Officeby M. Emy, in 1768, was a cookbook devoted to recipes for flavoured ices and ice cream.
In 1769 Domenico Negri, an Italian confectioner, founded a business inBerkeley SquareLondon which would become famous for its ice creams.His shop was at the Sign of the Pineapple (an emblem used by confectioners) and his trade card said he sold "All Sorts of English, French and Italian wet and dry'd Sweet Meats, Cedrati and Bergamot Chips, Naples Diavoloni, All sorts of Baskets & Cakes, fine and Common Sugar plums", but most importantly, "all Sorts of Ice, Fruits and creams in the best Italian manner."
In 1789 Frederick Nutt, who served an apprenticeship at Negri's establishment, first publishedThe Complete Confectioner. The book had 31 recipes for ice creams, some with fresh fruit, others with jams, and some using fruit syrups. Flavours included ginger, chocolate, brown breadcrumbs and one flavoured with Parmesan cheese.
An early North American reference to ice cream is from 1744: "Among the rarities[...] was some fine ice cream, which, with the strawberries and milk, eat most deliciously."It was served by the lady of Governor Bland.
Who brought ice cream to the United States first is unknown.Confectioners sold ice cream at their shops inNew Yorkand other cities during the colonial era.Benjamin Franklin,George Washington, andThomas Jeffersonwere known to have regularly eaten and served ice cream. Records, kept by a merchant from Chatham street, New York, show George Washington spending approximately $200 on ice cream in the summer of 1790. The same records show president Thomas Jefferson having an 18-step recipe for ice cream.Although it is incorrect that Jefferson introduced ice cream to America, as ispopularly believed, he did help to introducevanilla ice cream.First LadyDolley Madison, wife of U.S. PresidentJames Madison, served ice cream at her husband'sInaugural Ballin 1813.
Small-scale hand-cranked ice cream freezers were invented in England byAgnes Marshalland in America byNancy Johnsonin the 1840s.
In the Mediterranean, ice cream appears to have been accessible to ordinary people by the mid-18th century.Ice cream became popular and inexpensive in England in the mid-19th century, when Swiss émigréCarlo Gattiset up the first stand outsideCharing Crossstation in 1851. He sold scoops in shells for one penny. Prior to this, ice cream was an expensive treat confined to those with access to an ice house.Gatti built an 'ice well' to store ice that he cut fromRegent's Canalunder a contract with theRegent's Canal Company. By 1860, he expanded the business and began importing ice on a large scale from Norway.
In New Zealand, a newspaper advertisement for ice cream appeared in 1866, claiming to be the first time ice cream was available inWellington.Commercial manufacturing was underway in 1875.Ice cream rapidly gained in popularity in New Zealand throughout the 20th century.By 2018, exported ice cream products included new flavours such asmatchato cater to Asian markets.
Agnes Marshall, regarded as the "queen of ices" in England, did much to popularize ice cream recipes and make its consumption into a fashionable middle-class pursuit. She wrote four books:The Book of Ices(1885),Mrs. A.B. Marshall's Book of Cookery(1888),Mrs. A.B. Marshall's Larger Cookery Book of Extra Recipes(1891) andFancy Ices(1894) and gave public lectures on cooking. She even suggested using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream.
Ice cream sodawas invented in the 1870s, adding to ice cream's popularity. The invention of this cold treat is attributed to American Robert Green in 1874, although there is no conclusive evidence to prove his claim. Theice cream sundaeoriginated in the late 19th century. Some sources say that the sundae was invented to circumventblue laws, which forbade serving sodas on Sunday. Towns claiming to be the birthplace of the sundae includeBuffalo,Two Rivers,Ithaca, andEvanston. Both theice cream coneandbanana splitbecame popular in the early 20th century.
The first mention of the cone being used as an edible receptacle for the ice cream is inMrs. A.B. Marshall's Book of Cookeryof 1888. Her recipe for "Cornet with Cream" said that "the cornets were made with almonds and baked in the oven, not pressed between irons".The ice cream cone was popularized in the US at the1904 World's FairinSt. Louis, Missouri.
The history of ice cream in the 20th century is one of great change and increases in availability and popularity. In the United States in the early 20th century, the ice cream soda was a popular treat at thesoda shop, thesoda fountain, and theice cream parlour. During theAmerican Prohibition, the soda fountain to some extent replaced the outlawed alcohol establishments such asbarsand saloons.
Ice cream became popular throughout the world in the second half of the 20th century after cheap refrigeration became common. There was an explosion of ice cream stores and of flavours and types. Vendors often competed on the basis of variety:Howard Johnson'srestaurants advertised "a world of 28 flavors", andBaskin-Robbinsmade its 31 flavours ("one for every day of the month") the cornerstone of its marketing strategy (the company now boasts that it has developed over 1,000 varieties).
One important development in the 20th century was the introduction of soft ice cream, which has more air mixed in, thereby reducing costs. The soft ice cream machine fills a cone or dish from aspigot. In the United States, chains such asDairy Queen,Carvel, andTastee-Freezhelped popularize soft-serve ice cream. Baskin-Robbins later incorporated it into their menu.
Technological innovations such as these have introduced various food additives into ice cream, most notably thestabilizing agentgluten,to which some people have anintolerance. Recent awareness of this issue has prompted a number of manufacturers to start producing gluten-free ice cream.
The 1980s saw thicker ice creams being sold as "premium" and "super-premium" varieties under brands such asBen & Jerry's,Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream CompanyandHäagen-Dazs.
Ice cream is a colloidalemulsionmade with water, ice, milk fat, milk protein, sugar and air.Water and fat have the highest proportions by weight creating an emulsion that has dispersed phase as fat globules. The emulsion is turned into foam by incorporating air cells which are frozen to form dispersed ice cells. The triacylglycerols in fat arenonpolarand will adhere to themselves byVan der Waals interactions. Water is polar, thus emulsifiers are needed for dispersion of fat. Also, ice cream has a colloidal phase of foam which helps in its light texture. Milk proteins such ascaseinandwheyprotein present in ice cream are amphiphilic, can adsorb water and formmicelleswhich will contribute to its consistency. The proteins contribute to the emulsification, aeration and texture.Sucrose, which is adisaccharide, is usually used as a sweetening agent.Lactose, which is sugar present in milk, will cause freezing point depression. Thus, on freezing some water will remain unfrozen and will not give a hard texture.Too much lactose will result in a non-ideal texture because of either excessive freezing point depression or lactose crystallization.
Before the development of modern refrigeration, ice cream was a luxury reserved for special occasions. Making it was quite laborious; ice was cut from lakes and ponds during the winter and stored in holes in the ground, or in wood-frame or brickice houses, insulated by straw. Many farmers and plantation owners, including US Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, cut and stored ice in the winter for use in the summer.Frederic Tudorof Boston turned ice harvesting and shipping into a business, cutting ice in New England and shipping it around the world.
Ice cream was made by hand in a large bowl placed inside a tub filled with ice and salt. This is called the pot-freezer method.French confectioners refined the pot-freezer method, making ice cream in asorbetière[fr](a covered pail with a handle attached to the lid). In the pot-freezer method, the temperature of the ingredients is reduced by the mixture of crushed ice and salt. The salt water is cooled by the ice, and the action of the salt on the ice causes it to (partially) melt, absorbinglatent heatand bringing the mixture below the freezing point of pure water.
The hand-cranked churn, which also uses ice and salt for cooling, replaced the pot-freezer method. The exact origin of the hand-cranked freezer is unknown, but the first US patent for one was #3254 issued to Nancy Johnson on 9 September 1843. The hand-cranked churn produced smoother ice cream than the pot freezer and did it quicker. Many inventors patented improvements on Johnson's design.
In Europe and America, ice cream was made and sold by small businesses, mostly confectioners and caterers.Jacob Fussellof Baltimore, Maryland was the first to manufacture ice cream on a large scale. Fussell bought fresh dairy products from farmers in York County, Pennsylvania, and sold them in Baltimore. An unstable demand for his dairy products often left him with a surplus of cream, which he made into ice cream. He built his first ice cream factory in Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania, in 1851. Two years later, he moved his factory to Baltimore. Later, he opened factories in several other cities and taught the business to others, who operated their own plants. Mass production reduced the cost of ice cream and added to its popularity.
The development of industrial refrigeration by German engineerCarl von Lindeduring the 1870s eliminated the need to cut and store natural ice, and, when the freezer was perfected in 1926, commercial mass production of ice cream and the birth of the modern ice cream industry was underway.
In modern times, a common method for producing ice cream at home is to use an ice cream maker, an electrical device that churns the ice cream mixture while cooled inside a household freezer. Some more expensive models have an built-in freezing element. A newer method is to addliquid nitrogento the mixture while stirring it using a spoon or spatula for a few seconds; a similar technique, advocated byHeston Blumenthalas ideal for home cooks, is to adddry iceto the mixture while stirring for a few minutes.
An unusual method of making ice cream was done during World War II by American fighter pilots based in the South Pacific. They attached pairs of 5-US-gallon (19 L) cans to their aircraft. The cans were fitted with a small propeller, this was spun by the slipstream and drove a stirrer, which agitated the mixture while the intense cold of high altitude froze it.B-17 crews in Europe did something similar on their bombing runs as did others.
Ice cream can be mass-produced and thus is widely available in developed parts of the world. Ice cream can be purchased in largecartons(vats andsqurounds) from supermarkets and grocery stores, in smaller quantities from ice cream shops,convenience stores, andmilk bars, and in individual servings from small carts or vans at public events. In 2015, the US produced nearly 900 million US gallons (3.4×10L; 750,000,000 imp gal) of ice cream.
Today, jobs specialize in the selling of ice cream. The title of a person who works in this speciality is often called an 'ice cream man', however women also specialize in the selling of ice cream. People in this line of work often sell ice cream on beaches. On beaches, ice cream is either sold by a person who carries a box full of ice cream and is called over by people who want to purchase ice cream, or by a person who drives up to the top of the beach and rings a bell. In the second method, people go up to the top of the beach and purchase ice cream straight from the ice cream seller, who is often in anice cream van. In Turkey and Australia, ice cream is sometimes sold to beach-goers from small powerboats equipped with chest freezers.
Some ice cream distributors sell ice cream products from travelling refrigerated vans or carts (commonly referred to in the US as "ice cream trucks"), sometimes equipped with speakers playing children's music or folk melodies (such as "Turkey in the Straw"). The driver of an ice cream van drives throughout neighbourhoods and stops every so often, usually every block. The seller on the ice cream van sells the ice cream through a large window; this window is also where the customer asks for ice cream and pays. Ice cream vans in the United Kingdom make amusic boxnoise rather than actual music.
Many countries have regulations controlling what can be described as ice cream.
In the United Kingdom, Food Labelling Regulations (1996) set a requirement of at least 5% milk fat and 2.5% milk protein in order to be sold as ice cream within the UK. In rest of the European Union, a trade organization called European Ice Cream Association calls for minimum dairy fat content of 5%.In 2015, these regulations were relaxed so that containing milk fat or protein was no longer necessary in the UK for a product to be sold as "ice cream", though at least 5% milk fat is still required for a product to be labeled "dairy ice cream". After this change, many UK products labelled as "ice cream" substitute milk fat with cheaper alternatives likepalm oil,coconut oil, andvegetable fats.
In the US, theFDArules state that to be described as "ice cream", a product must have the following composition:
It generally also has:
These compositions are percentage by weight. Since ice cream can contain as much as half air by volume, these numbers may be reduced by as much as half if cited by volume. In terms of dietary considerations, the percentages by weight are more relevant. Even low-fat products have high caloric content: Ben and Jerry's No-Fat Vanilla Fudge, for instance, contains 150 calories (630 kJ) per half-cup due to its high sugar content.
According to the CanadianFood and Drugs Actand Regulations, ice cream in Canada is divided into "ice cream mix" and "ice cream". Each has a different set of regulations.
Ice cream is considered a colloidal system. It is composed by ice cream crystals and aggregates, air that does not mix with the ice cream by forming small bubbles in the bulk and partially coalesced fat globules. This dispersed phase made from all the small particles is surrounded by an unfrozen continuous phase composed by sugars, proteins, salts, polysaccharides and water. Their interactions determine the properties of ice cream, whether soft and whippy or hard.
Ostwald ripeningis the explanation for the growth of large crystals at the expense of small ones in the dispersion phase. This process is also called migratory recrystallization. It involves the formation of sharp crystals. Theories about Ostwald recrystallization admit that after a period of time, the recrystallization process can be described by the following equation:
r=r(0)+Rtexp⁡(1/n){\displaystyle r=r(0)+Rt\exp(1/n)}
Where r (0) is the initial size, n the order of recrystallization, and t a time constant for recrystallization that depends on the rate R (in units of size/time).
To make ice cream smooth, recrystallization must occur as slowly as possible, because small crystals create smoothness, meaning that r must decrease.
From the perspective of food chemistry, ice cream is a colloid or foam. The dietary emulsifier plays an important role in ice cream. Soy lecithin and polysorbate are two popular emulsifiers used for ice cream production. A mouse study in 2015 shows that two commonly used dietary emulsifierscarboxymethyl cellulose(CMC) andpolysorbate 80(P80) can potentially cause inflammatory bowel diseases, weight gain, and other metabolic syndromes.
Around the world, different cultures have developed unique versions of ice cream, suiting the product to local tastes and preferences.
The most traditional Argentinehelado(ice cream) is very similar to Italian gelato, in large part due to the historical influence of Italian immigrants on Argentine customs.
Per capita, Australians and New Zealanders are among the leading ice cream consumers in the world, eating 18 litres (4.0 imp gal; 4.8 US gal) and 20 litres (4.4 imp gal; 5.3 US gal) each per year respectively, behind the United States where people eat 23 litres (5.1 imp gal; 6.1 US gal) each per year.
In China, besides the popular flavours such as vanilla, chocolate,coffee, mango and strawberry, many Chinese ice-cream manufacturers have also introduced other traditional Chinese flavours such as black sesame and red bean.
In Greece, ice cream in its modern form, orpagotó(Greek:παγωτό), was introduced at least from the middle of the 19th century.
India is one of the largest producers of ice cream in the world, but most of its ice cream is consumed domestically. One of its most well-known ice creams is thekulfiavailable in both usual and local flavours like mango, rose,badam(almond), strawberry,kesar(saffron), pistachio, chocolate and can contain nuts, rose petals, saffron stalks, and pieces of other sweets likerabdriandgulab jamun.
Golasare summer treat consisting of shaved ice packed into a popsicle form on a stick and soaked in flavoured sugar syrup, a popular choice beingkala khatta, made from the sweet and sourjamunfruit.
In Indonesia, a type of traditional ice cream calledes puteror "stirred ice cream" is made fromcoconut milk,pandanusleaves, sugar—and flavours that includeavocado,jackfruit,durian,palm sugar, chocolate,red bean, andmung bean.
In Iran,fālūdeh(Persian:فالوده) orpālūde(Persian:پالوده) is a Persian sorbet made of thin vermicelli noodles, frozen with sugar syrup and rose water. The dessert is often served with lime juice and sometimes ground pistachios.
Italian ice cream, orgelatoas it is known, is a traditional and popular dessert in Italy. Much of the production is still hand-made and flavoured by each individual shop in "produzione propria" gelaterias. Gelato is made from whole milk, sugar, sometimes eggs, and natural flavourings. Gelato typically contains 7–8% fat, less than ice cream's minimum of 10%.
Sorbetesis a Philippine version of common ice cream usually peddled from carts by peddlers who roam streets in the Philippines. Despite the similarities between the namesorbetesandsorbet,sorbetesis not a type of sorbet.
In Spain, ice cream is often in the style of Italian gelato. Spanishheladocan be found in many cafés or speciality ice cream stores. While many traditional flavours are sold, cafés may also sell flavours like nata,viola,crema catalana, ortiramisu. In the 1980s, the Spanish industry was known for creating many creative and weirdice cream bars.
In Syria, there is a traditional ice cream calledbooza. It is made by freezing dairy milk withmasticand sahlab (salep), giving it a distinctive stretchy and chewy texture.
Dondurmais the name given to ice cream in Turkey. Dondurma typically includes milk, sugar, salep, and mastic.
In the United Kingdom, 14million adults buy ice cream as a treat, in a market worth £1.8billion (according to a report produced in  2024).In the United States, ice cream made with just cream, sugar, and a flavouring (usually fruit) is sometimes referred to as "Philadelphia style"ice cream. Ice cream that uses eggs to make acustardis sometimes called "French ice cream". American federal labelling standards require ice cream to contain a minimum of 10%milk fat. Americans consume about 23 litres of ice cream per person per year—the most in the world. According tothe NPD Group, the most popular ice cream flavours in the U.S. are vanilla and chocolate with a combined market share of 40% as of 2008.
Mrs A. B. Marshall's Cookery Book, published in 1888,endorsed serving ice cream in cones.Agnes Marshall was a celebratedcookery writerof her day and helped to popularize ice cream. She patented and manufactured an ice cream maker and was the first to suggest using liquefied gases to freeze ice cream after seeing a demonstration at theRoyal Institution.
Reliable evidence proves that ice cream cones were served in the 19th century, and their popularity increased greatly during theSt. Louis World's Fairin 1904. According to legend, an ice cream vendor at the fair ran out of cardboard dishes. The vendor at theSyrianwafflebooth next door, unsuccessful in the intense heat, offered to make cones by rolling up his waffles. The new product sold well and was widely copied by other vendors.
In 2006, some commercial ice cream makers began to useliquid nitrogenin the primary freezing of ice cream, thus eliminating the need for a conventional ice cream freezer.The preparation results in a column of white condensedwater vapourcloud. The ice cream, dangerous to eat while still "steaming" with liquid nitrogen, is allowed to rest until the liquid nitrogen is completely vaporized. Sometimes ice cream is frozen to the sides of the container, and must be allowed to thaw. Good results can also be achieved with the more readily availabledry ice, and authors such asHeston Blumenthalhave published recipes to produce ice cream and sorbet using a simple blender.