Anytime, anywhere, ice cream is just plain cool. But on a blazing summer day this creamy blend adds a delicious chill to the air. July is international ice cream month and on Saturday, Kingston's first ice cream
festival takes place at Devon House.
The scoop
on ice cream
THE FIRST frozen dessert
is credited to Emperor Nero of Rome. It was a mixture of snow (which he sent his slaves into the mountains
to retrieve) and nectar, fruit pulp
and honey.
However, another theory has it that Marco Polo, 13th century bard and adventurer, had brought from the Far East to Europe recipes for water ices which were said to be in Asia for thousands of years.
1559: Ice cream appears in Italy when ice and salt are discovered to make a freezing combination.
1776: The first ice cream parlour in the United States opened in New York City.
1782: Ice Cream is served at a Philadelphia party given by the French envoy to honour the new American republic.
1842: A portable hand-cranked ice cream churn is invented by a housewife known as Nancy.
1851: The first wholesale ice cream business is formed by a Baltimore, U.S., milk dealer,
Jacob Fussell, who receives milk
in a steady supply but is faced with
problem of erratic demand. Fussell sells his ice cream at less than half the price charged by others.
1903: Itialo Marchiony sold his homemade ice cream from a pushcart on Wall Street.
1904: There has been ongoing debate as to who invented the ice cream cone. The most common story is that the cone was introduced at the Louis Fair by a Syrian immigrant and pastry maker, Ernest A. Hamwi, who sold wafer-like Zalabia pastry at
fairground concession. Another ice cream vendor ran out of containers
to serve ice cream giving Hamwi
the brilliant idea of rolling up his wafers in the form of cones to serve the ice cream.
1930: Dry Ice is introduced commercially in the United States.
A dozen scoops of facts and trivia
The three most popular ice cream flavours in the world are vanilla, number 1;
chocolate, number 2; and strawberry,
number three.
Ice cream is now considered a food rather than a hot weather treat as most homes have freezers.
Surveys show that men are more likely to choose ice cream as a dessert than women.
Flavours you would never have thought of, yet are available commercially -
garlic, avocado and sweet corn.
The ice cream cone is the most environmentally friendly form of packaging for any product.
"Hokey Pokey" is the traditional name for ice cream and originated from the early ice cream vendors who peddled their wares shouting,'ecco u poco', try a sample.
Rum and raisin is the most popular flavour sold in Jamaica, according to Nestle.
The Nutty Buddy is the number one
novelty selling item in the country.
The banana split was invented in 1904 at Strickler's Drug Store in Pennsylvania, United States.
A gallon of ice cream must weigh a
minimum of 4 1/2 pounds.
At one time it was against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie in the state
of Kansas, U.S.
U.S. standards call for ice cream to contain a minimum of 10 per cent milk fat and 20 per cent total milk solids.
Rum Temptation courtesy of Nestle Jamaica Limited
