Saturday, October 5, 2013

Ice Cream Through The Ages

By Marquerite Velasquez


Ice cream is definitely one of the most popular treats in the world. This cool confection has been around in one form or another for more than 1,000 years. The Chinese were known to serve a treat made from frozen milk and rice as early as 200 BC, and ancient Arabs also were known to mix frozen milk with sugar to make a sweet treat. In China and Ancient Rome, fresh fruit often was used to sweeten and flavor these frozen creations.

Recipes for the creamy concoction we enjoy today appeared in cookbooks during the early 1700s in both the American Colonies and in England. It is believed that the Quakers brought the first ice cream recipes to the Colonies, but whatever the source, by the time George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were on the scene, both presidents enjoyed this cool treat. First Lady Dolley Madison, a revered hostess, declared that ice cream should be served during President Madison's inauguration party. While presidents, statesmen and even regular Americans enjoyed ice cream, it was still a fairly rare treat simply because there was no refrigeration and ice was hard to come by for most Americans.

In the early 1800s, ice houses were created, and this made it much easier for people to have ice at home and for businesses to have ice constantly on hand. Soda fountains began to spring up in big cities and many towns. Along with serving ice cream in a dish, the ice cream soda became quite popular with Americans. These sodas were considered too rich and self-indulgent to be served on the Sabbath, and some cities began passing laws against serving soda at all on Sunday. Enterprising soda fountain owners simply created the ice cream sundae and served this treat instead, altering the spelling slightly so as to show respect for the importance of the Sunday Sabbath.

The popular cone was around during the 19th century, but its popularity really boomed after the 1904 Worlds' Fair, which occurred in St. Louis, Missouri. It was a hot day and the waffle vendor was having no luck selling his treat. An adjacent ice cream vendor, on the other hand, sold so much that he ran out of containers. The quick-thinking waffle chef rolled up a waffle and suggested a partnership. The crowd loved the result and the handy and tasty cone just became more and more popular over time. The ice cream soda, the sundae and the cone are just some of the earliest ice cream treats, and today there are hundreds of interesting confections to consider. Americans consume more than a billion gallons of ice cream every single year, no matter what type of form the treat takes.

Now that you've spent some time reading about ice cream, you probably want to find the best ice cream in your area and enjoy a cool ice cream treat. In Los Angeles, you will find the best ice cream options at YoKuMon, an ice cream shop in Culver City. The main attraction at YoKuMon is the ice cream sandwich, but these aren't just any ice cream sandwiches. These are culinary masterpieces that consist of gourmet ice cream pressed between two homemade cookies.

The cookies are a gourmet treat by themselves, and all of them are baked fresh right at YoKuMon. In fact, the staff bakes new batches throughout the day. There are eight cookie varieties and a dozen flavors of ice cream which you can mix and match to suit your tastes. No matter what flavors you choose, the ice cream sandwiches are just $2, so this is not only a delicious treat, it's also quite affordable. In addition to these cookie ice cream sandwiches, you can just order an ice cream cone, a cookie or perhaps opt for sorbet, shaved ice, a milk shake or perhaps a decadent waffle ice cream sandwich topped with chocolate sauce or caramel sauce.




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