What is your favorite comfort food? Some people want a grilled cheese sandwich while many heartbroken singles want to wallow in grief with a pint (or two) of ice cream. Whether you are heartbroken or not, ice cream can make any frown turn upside down. But do you know anything about this milky treat?

People erroneously attribute this to Marco Polo who supposedly got it from China. Some people point to Catherine de Medici for introducing this delightful treat to France. Other fanciful stories say that the doomed English King Charles had his personal ice cream maker.

Before you scour the web for ice cream on wheels for hire, you might want to learn more about this delightful treat. 

Where Did It All Start?

King Charles I may not have a personal ice cream maker or created the ice cream van, but one myth comes close to the truth. The food that closely relates to ice cream came from the Tang Dynasty of China. But Marco Polo was not the one who brought this tasty treat to Europe.

The earliest ice cream came from buffalo, cows, and goats. Their milk was heated and allowed to ferment. People mixed flour with the fermented product for thickening and camphor for flavor. It was refrigerated before the treat was served to the king.

How Did They Freeze It?

Our ancestors did not have ice cream carts. In fact, they do not even have freezers, but they have an ingenious way of freezing their food. What they did was mix salt with ice. Doing this reduces the freezing point, which makes it easier to achieve temperatures lower than -14 degrees Celsius.

Unfortunately, we do not know who invented this process. But it was first reported by Indians in the 4th century. A few centuries later, Ibn Abu Usaybi, an Arab medical historian gave the first technical description of ice making with various types of salt.

More History

Unlike the fictional story of Marco Polo bringing the ice cream from China, the ice-making process only reached mainland Europe until 1503 in Italy. Italians considered it as a chemist party trick, where they used various acids, water, and salts. But it was not used for food until water ices (sorbets) appeared in the 17th century in Naples. In 1664, ices made from sweetened milk appeared in Naples.

It took almost a decade later for the treat to be served at a banquet in Windsor Castle. In 1671, they presented the delicacy to Merry Old King Charles during the Feast of St. George. It was considered a rare and exotic dish that only those at the monarch’s table were able to taste the ice cream while the rest had to watch it.

Conclusion

It is fun eating our favorite treat, especially if we feel bad. It makes us feel better. It is also fun to learn how it evolved. We might even ponder how the dessert served only to monarchs became an everyday delight for everyone.

If you are thinking of having an ice cream cart for your own party, reach out to Besties Ice Cream. We will be more than happy to serve you and your guest this tasty treat. Call us now for your reservation.