Where in the world did Ice Cream come from? Who invented it? How long has it been around? You could probably ask everybody in your neighborhood and nobody would know the real answer! In fact, you might get a zillion different answers! How far does ice cream go back? The 1900s? The 1800s? The 1700s? Well read on for a little history of ice cream….
Some say that ice cream may go back as far as 200BC! Imagine that! There are stories that say the ancient Chinese would make a frozen ice cream type dessert by mixing snow with milk and rice. As you can probably imagine, more than likely this concoction tasted nothing like modern ice cream does today, but that was possibly a beginning for ice cream.
And in the 50AD, and as the story goes, Nero Claudius Caesar became obsessed with a version of ice cream and would literally send runners up into the mountains to bring back piles of snow. They were known to flavor this snow with honey, juices and fruit.
Then fast forward to the 13th Century when Marco Polo returned to Italy from the Far East with a recipe for a special frozen milk dessert. This new frozen delight was actually the beginning of modern sherbet ice cream.
Some time in the 1560’s there is evidence that suggests that the people of that time were eating a frozen dessert that was made from milk sweetened with sugar. So this is about as close as you can get to the origin of real ice cream as we know it today. Well, there you have it, the history of ice cream!
Now the Udderly Awesome Craft Ice Cream at the Harmony Valley Creamery would probably blow the socks off of the Ancient Chinese or Marco Polo’s ice cream! Ice Cream has really come a long way since 200BC. Now that you know the history of ice cream, consider yourself a little bit smarter. And the next time you’re enjoying a nice big bowl of Harmony Valley Creamery’s signature flavors, such as Local Yodelers Cookies ‘N Cream or School’s Out Strawberry just think about how lucky you are that you’re not having to eat a bowl of snow!
And feel free to contact the friendly staff at Harmony Valley Creamery, should you have any questions, but make sure you’re brushed up on your ice cream history, you never know when they may give you a pop quiz!
