It ’s been said that Dolley Madison , wife of PresidentJames Madison , avail bolster sustenance for her antisocial husband in Washington by being a gregarious and magic hostess . Her celebrated political party often included music , elaborate dinners , and plentitude of drinks .
For dessert , there wasoyster sparkler cream .
In the early 1800s , there were no recognised rules about how to flavour , prepare , or even serveice cream , other than the fact it had to be done rather quick . An absence seizure of mechanical refrigeration mean that chefs relied on methamphetamine houses — where large chunks of ice were stored — and elaborate , hand - cranked motorcar for dish out the good stuff . enjoy ice emollient was an case normally only enjoyed by social club ’s elite group . How did we get from there to producing1.38 billion gallonsof it annually ? To suffice that , we ’ll need to delve into the history of ice cream .
No one is solely surewho first had the whimsey to prepare a sub - zero dessert treat . StoriesaboundaboutAlexander the Greatsnacking on snow flavored with dearest and nectar and of Roman emperor beam crawler out to bring snow from the mountains for a primitive sno - cone cell .
“ Whether it started in China or Italy , no one was really keeping record , ” Amy Ettinger , author ofSweet Spot : An Ice Cream Binge Across America , told Mental Floss in 2017 .
It ’s likely that credit for conflate dairy product into a frozen concoction belong to theTang Dynastyof the 7th , 8th , and ninth centuries . Using Milk River from cows , goat , or buffalo , lowered into ice pools in metal tubes , this embryonic version of water ice emollient was a goody for emperor . A thousand old age subsequently , Italy and France began toying with their own versions of the sweet . A Milk River - found sorbet recipe spring up in Naples ; the French used ointment , lucre , and orange - flavor water to make “ fromage , ” though it control no cheese .
internal-combustion engine ointment ’s yummy pilgrimage from Europe to America is a small easier to track . According to Ettinger , it wasGeorge Washingtonwho helped popularize the treat among high society beginning in the 1770s . Washington had see of water ice cream through Norborne Berkeley , the majestic regulator of the colony of Virginia , who serve it at a dinner party Washington attended . “ Washington loved it and start serving it at province functions , ” she said .
At Washington ’s estate at Mount Vernon , a 300 - piece set for make and serving glass emollient need up permanent residence in the kitchen . Because it was such a labor - intensive ordeal , serving ice cream became a condition symbolic representation . “ There were bragging rights to it , ” Ettinger say . “ It became very pop in Washington at very elite part . ”
icing pick continued to be a rare delicacy , with political figures likeThomas Jeffersonand the Madisons reserve it for exceptional occasions . Jefferson evenjotted downarecipefor it that called for two bottleful of “ good ointment , ” six nut , and a half - pound of sugar flavored with vanilla extract and then frozen .
As the use of insulated ice houses grew , so did ice ointment ’s popularity : SomeJuly 4parties in Washington held sightings of the delicacy that storm people for being frozen in the heat of summertime .
Throughout the 1800s , a series of technological institution assist usher meth cream from exclusive events to mainstream availability . Refrigeration , homogenisation , and delivery methods made the manufacture and dispersion of the frozen treat potential . Methedrine cream was no longer part of class distinction .
According to Ettinger,1904 was a grownup yr . That was when the ice emollient strobile was popularise at the St. Louis World ’s Fair , put an last to the labor - intensive process of washing ice cream saucer at soda fountains . Suddenly , ice rink cream could be carry on the go , and trash pick parlor did n’t need to induct in dishwashers .
The next bragging shot in the arm was Prohibition . When the 18th Amendment was enacted in 1920 , anumberof bars and barroom converted to pop fountain , commute one leniency ( alcoholic beverage ) for another ( carbohydrate ) . Even beer Maker like Yuengling and Anheuser - Busch pop make the sweet stuff . “ That first yr of Prohibition , a terrific amount of ice cream was consume , ” Ettinger said . “ pop fountains became a societal hub . ” Between 1916 and 1925 , American deoxyephedrine cream consumption go up by a staggering 55 per centum .
The deluge of ice ointment was accompanied by the debut of fallal : the unfortunately advert Eskimo Pie ( ice cream wind in a hard chocolate shell ) , the Drumstick ( frappe emollient wrapped in peanuts ) , and Good Humor bars that came on a stick for get chubby while on the go . Even with the end of proscription in 1933 , it would take the Great Depression and a earth war to get Americans to stop eating so much ice cream .
“ With the lack of dinero , product of ice pick fell off , ” Ettinger say . But troops were spare any cravings . “ Ice ointment was served to military personnel for combat fatigue . It was order by military doctors . ” The Navy even had an ice pick hoy that could produce 10 gal every seven hour .
Since the end of the war , virtually nothing has stopped ice emollient ’s authorization as the pet way to battle a blistering summer ’s day . Häagen - Dazsbroke the mould of vanilla extract , deep brown , and strawberry with a wider variety of feeling , while mix - atomic number 49 likeDairy Queen’sBlizzardkept shifting the end station for premium treats . crank cream had become so tight name with America that it was often the first thingsampledby people come on Ellis Island .
According to Ettinger — who began her inquiry in San Francisco with the artisanal shops there and went on drive - alongs on ice cream trucks — ice cream ’s prayer is simple . “ It ’s the quintessential American dessert , ” she say . And ice ointment enthusiasts continue to try out withunusual flavors , from fois gras to Cheetos .
Despite the variety of smell , no one seems as penetrating on oyster ice emollient as Dolley Madison . Perhaps that ’s because it was in all likelihood little more than frozen oyster chowder with the oysters drain out . Gross ? Maybe . But no history of frappe cream would be complete without it .
A version of this story ran in 2017 ; it has been update for 2023 .
