Monday, October 7, 2013

Ice Cream Through The Ages

By Marquerite Velasquez


If you love ice cream, you are not alone. Billions of people around the world love this sweet treat, which has been around since ancient times. The early version of ice cream is quite different from what we eat today, but we do known that Chinese cooks created desserts sweetened with fruits and consisting of rice and frozen milk as far back as perhaps 200 BC. In Ancient Rome, fruit was used to sweeten frozen milk, and early Arabs combined frozen milk and sugar for a dessert, the known instance of using sugar to sweeten instead of fruit.

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.

Once insulated ice houses were invented in the early 19th century, it became much easier to produce ice cream and a new industry was born. The first soda fountains began to pop up in the United States after the Civil War, serving up ice cream sodas and eventually ice cream sundaes, which were invented as a Sunday treat because some religious groups felt that it was too decadent to enjoy a rich ice cream soda on the Sabbath. In fact, a few cities actually prohibited ice cream sodas being sold on Sunday, so enterprising ice cream vendors came up with a way around these laws.

As time passed, more ice cream treats became popular. Ice cream cones have been in existence since at least the late 1800s, but they truly gained popularity after an incident that occurred during the World Fair of 1904 in St. Louis. A waffle vendor wasn't having any luck selling waffles due to the intense heat, but the ice cream stand beside him sold so much ice cream that the vendor had no more cardboard dishes to hold ice cream. The waffle vendor rolled up a waffle and suggested that they team up and place the ice cream in this waffle "cone." It was a big hit and soon became popular nationwide and even worldwide. People today still consumer millions of ice cream cones each year and billions of gallons of sweet, delicious ice cream.

Finding ice cream shops in Los Angeles isn't difficult, but if you truly want the best ice cream treats in the area, YoKuMon, an ice cream shop in Culver City, is the place to go. They have a huge menu, but the biggest draw is their unique ice cream sandwiches. These ice cream sandwiches are built using the highest quality ice creams smashed between two fresh, delectable cookies.

All of the cookies are baked fresh right on site, and you can mix and match any flavor of ice cream to any of the eight varieties of cookies. Best of all, each ice cream sandwich is just $2, so you can afford to treat the entire family. They also have smoothies, milkshakes, shaved ice and you can order just ice cream or just have a cookie. They also offer waffle ice cream sandwiches and plenty of toppings so that you customize your treat any way you like.




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