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[[File:Marco Polo traveling.jpeg|left|300px|thumbnail|Figure 1. Marco Polo has been credited with bringing ice cream to Europe.]]
Ice cream has been a popular treat that many see today as having developed relatively recently, as ice cream usually requires a form of refrigeration. While the modern form of ice cream is relatively more recent, the idea of ice cream has been present for millennia. Ice treats, which eventually gave us ice cream, were refreshing snacks usually reserved for elites or those who can obtain ice in times of warm or hot weather. The modern prevalence and look of ice cream can be traced to key developments in the industrial age, although its idea is much more ancient.
====Early Developments====It is not clear when the idea of ice cream exactly developed. However, already by the 2nd millennium BC, around 1800 BC, records from the ancient Near East state of Mari indicate ice was being collected for refreshment during the hot months. An ice house was built in the city of Terqa, suggesting the ice would be stored there during the winter months, when it may have been brought down from the mountains, and then successfully stored during the warm season. In China, at about the same time or even earlier, a flavored ice was known that resembles modern sherbet, where fruit would be frozen and flavored with honey or other sweet tastes. By the Achaemenid Persian period, around 500 BC, the Persians are depicted as using a type of grape concentrate which they would then mix with ice to create a cold, grape flavored treat. They would also use honey to give it a sweet taste. This seems to have been introduced to the Greeks after the invasion of Alexander, where records indicate the Greeks were doing similar things soon after Alexander's arrived in the region.<ref>For more on early ice cream consumption in the ancient world, see: Weiss, L. B. (2011). <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1861897928/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1861897928&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=5e4fd0680acd209879f3f29c98e8005f Ice Cream: A Global History].</i> London: Reaktion Books, pg. 19.</ref>
Only in the 16th century, the texture of what we call ice cream began to appear. By this time, or perhaps in the 16th century, flavored ice was mixed with milk and cream. The presence of ice cream likely came via the Silk Road, or it has been mentioned from the period of Marco Polo (Figure 1). Eventually, when sugar came from the New World, it was also mixed with the flavored ice, milk, and cream combination to create the taste and look of ice cream we are more familiar with. The use of cream mixed with ice helped create the name "ice cream" or "iced cream" as it was initially known. This innovation probably came via Italy and France, where it spread to the rest of Europe. However, having ice required having ice houses, which were not common. Thus it was mostly a type of treatment for royalty or consumed by upper elites of society and not widely available.<ref>For more on Europe's history of ice cream, see: Quinzio, J. (2009). <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0520248619/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0520248619&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=84e7dc5199895ae45b5f8f264f1dc432 Of Sugar and Snow: A History of Ice Cream Making].</i> University of California Press.</ref> ====Key Changes====
[[File:5249494834 3b6f6c54c9 b.jpeg|thumbnail|300px |left|Figure 2. Children eating ice cream in the Ottoman Era.]]
The 18th century saw the expansion of ice cream, where many shops and ice cream makers now operated. It was during During the colonial period that , ice cream was introduced to the United States, perhaps via Quakers who brought their recipe books with them as they came to the colonies. Ice cream soon caught on in popularity, as many of the founding fathers in the United States widely consumed ice cream. In the summer of 1790, George Washington spent $200 on ice cream. Thomas Jefferson had a well known 18-step recipe for creating ice cream. In the inauguration of James Madison, ice cream was served to guests.<ref>For more on the early history of ice cream in the United States, see: DeWitt, D. (2010). <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1402217862/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1402217862&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6b9288a331b7873bafa0ece890e4603e The Founding Foodies: How Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin Revolutionized American Cuisine].</i> Naperville, Ill: Sourcebooks.</ref>
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Around 1800, ice house insulation improved dramatically , which allowed them to be even colder. The improved technology expanded the number of ice houses. The wider presence of ice houses allowed ice cream to spread across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East in the early part of the 19th century(Figure 2). In the rest of the century, several technologies began to facilitate the production of ice cream. These included steam power, mechanical refrigeration, the homogenizer, electric power and motors, packing machines, and improvements in the freezing process. The hand-cranked churn was an important innovation in the 1840s that gave the ice cream a smoother look. Jacob Fussell, a Quaker from Baltimore, created an ice cream business by selling ice cream at a larger scale, introducing wider commercial processing and selling of ice cream. He was able to streamline the procurement of milk from dairy farmers , and he often had a surplus of cream that he would then begin to use for ice cream. Popularity The popularity of his brand caught on and spread as he was able to widely distribute his productwidely. <ref>For more on 19th -century developments in ice creamdevelopments, see: Clarke, C. (2012). <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1849731276/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1849731276&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=fdf3c92b3e20404d677eaceab18d6a02 The Science of Ice Cream] (2nd ed).</i> Cambridge: RSC Publ.</ref> It was during the 1870s that the sundae developed. At that time, the ice cream had now become prevalent. Experimentation on new ice creams was common, and one of these added soda with ice cream and fruits and other sweet toppings. However, there was a backlash on eating such foods on a Sunday, a religious day, so the innovators took out the soda water, and the mixture of ice creams and toppings was eventually called the sundae, although it was spelled Sunday initially (changed to avoid criticism from religiously minded people). The use of soda water with ice cream, however, did catch on. The ice cream cone was popularized in 1888 by Agnes Marshall in her recipe book, where she called these cones cornets. Likely, ice cream cones were already known, but her book did make the idea of ice cream cones more known, mostly because of her influence at the time in things related to cooking and food.<ref>For more on how flavors and types of ice creams developed, see: Funderburg, A. C. (1995). <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087972692X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=087972692X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=2f5f9d5997d7c3a5ce30d3a44ab2b7e9 Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla: A History of American Ice Cream].</i> Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.</ref>
====Conclusion====It is impossible to imagine ice cream without freezers or refrigeration of some sort; however, the origin of ice cream is much more ancient, going back thousands of year years to the ancient Near East and China. Because ice was not easily obtained or made, ice cream was considered food for royalty or upper elites who can obtain ice, particularly in warm seasons. Improvement in ice houses, and general technology development in the 19th century, led to the development of ice cream being more spread. With However, with refrigeration, however, ice cream could now be created without having ice on hand, leading to the eventual widespread presence of ice cream. Key developments of emulsifiers, thickeners, and mixing technologies have also led to the texture that we are accustomed to.
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====Related DailyHistory.org Articles====
*[[How Did Ancient Societies Adapt to Dairy Consumption?]]
*[[How Did Black Pepper Spread in Popularity?]]
*[[How Did Popcorn Become Popular?]]
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