Which ice cream flavour was first? This is a question that has been asked by many people over the years, but unfortunately, there is no definitive answer.
Some people believe that ice cream was first made in China, while others believe it originated in Italy. However, one thing is for sure – the history of ice cream is a fascinating one!
In this blog post, we will explore the origins of this delicious treat and discuss some of the most popular ice cream flavours throughout history, as well as theories on the first ice cream flavour. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
Earliest Mentions of Ice Cream
Some believe that the first recorded mention of ice cream was in the year AD 79, when Pliny the Elder, a Roman historian, wrote about a dessert made from snow and honey.
This suggests that ice cream may have originated in China, as it is known that the Chinese had been using ice to cool drinks for centuries.
It is believed by many that Marco Polo, the famous explorer, may have brought the recipe for ice cream back to Italy from China in the 13th century.
However according to the International Dairy Foods Association, one of the first recorded ice cream fans was Alexander the Great. While no one is clear about the exact dates, the IDFA dates ice cream’s origins all the way back to 2BC. They believed that it was Alexander the Great who was known to enjoy snow and ice flavoured with honey and nectar.
Whichever version you believe, it seems that the first ice cream flavour had honey in it. But this was definitely more ice than cream!
Other early historical figures who also enjoyed ancient ‘ice cream’ included King Solomon and Nero Claudius Caesar.
King Solomon would have iced drinks during harvesting. And Nero Claudius Caesar, during the height of the Roman Empire, sent attendants into the mountains for snow to then add fruit flavours and juices to.
It seems that enjoying flavoured ice was a popular pastime among several historical figures!
How Ice Cream Became More Popular
From Italy, ice cream spread to other parts of Europe and it is thought that Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henry II of France, was responsible for introducing it to the French court in the sixteenth century.
It is believed by some that she mentioned both a vanilla ice cream flavour and strawberry ice cream versions. This French ice cream was however still more of a sorbet frozen dessert than a creamy ice cream.
The earliest frozen chocolate recipes were from Naples in Italy in 1693. These recipes for ice cream appeared in Antonio Latini’s The Modern Steward.
Chocolate is also sometimes believed to be one of the first ice cream flavours in Europe, because popular drinks such as hot chocolate, coffee, and tea were the first to be turned into types of frozen dessert.
Hot chocolate had become a popular beverage in Europe in the seventeenth century, as had coffee and tea. All three drinks were used to make frozen desserts. Latini published two recipes for ices based on the drink, both of which contained only chocolate and sugar.
Real’ Ice Cream Flavours
Ice cream as we know it was made possible by the discovery of the endothermic effect. Before this, cream could be chilled but not frozen. It was discovered that adding salt lowered the melting point of ice. This then had the effect of drawing heat from the cream and allowing it to freeze.
The first known mention of this comes from an Indian poem Pancatantra, which dates back to the fourth century AD. The earliest written description of this process was from medicinal writings by Ibn Abu Usaybia in the thirteenth century, rather than from culinary texts.
However the technique of freezing cream is not known from any European sources before the sixteenth century.
When Ice Cream Appeared in the UK
The first ice cream parlour in England opened in London in 1671 and ice cream recipes first appeared in England in the eighteenth century. A recipe for ice cream was published in Mrs. Mary Eales’s Receipts in London in 1718.
By the early 1800s, ice cream was a popular treat among the upper classes. However, it wasn’t until the mid-nineteenth century that ice cream became more widely available. This was thanks to the invention of the ice cream machine which made ice cream production easier.
Today, there are countless ice cream flavours available and it is enjoyed by people all over the world.
Some of the most popular ice cream flavours include the well known vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and mint chocolate chip, but there are some really wild and whacky flavours available for the more adventurous too!
So, there you have it – a brief history of ice cream and how some of the flavours came to be throughout the years.
As you can see, there is no definitive answer to which ice cream flavour was the first, as it depends on the definition of what ice cream is and what ice cream ingredients should include.
There are also a few conflicting beliefs about the timings and discovery of various ice cream flavours! However we hope you have enjoyed this blog post and that it has given you a new appreciation for these delicious frozen treats.
