The Writings of G. K. Bostic

Why are we all so obsessed with ice cream?

Because it’s good!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Right? Okay, well maybe there are some people in the world who don’t like it, but I do believe they would be hard to find. And perhaps they are aliens from another planet in a galaxy far, far away.

But let’s admit it, most of us average humans love this creamy frozen delight. Did you know the origins of ice cream can be traced back to about the 4th century BC? Persians combined ice with flavors to produce treats, and it is said that Nero ordered ice to be brought back from the mountains to be mixed with fruit.

Ice cream probably came to Europe from Shang, China where King Tang used a method of making ice and milk concoctions. Later, in Europe and then in the United States, these concoctions evolved into recipes with which people experimented developing more and more sinful, delicious dessert temptations. 

Ice cream was so popular here in the USA that the first ice cream parlor was opened way back in 1776 in New York City where the colonists started calling the concoction ice cream for the first time, coming from the phrase iced cream. And the idea of the ice cream parlor went over so well, it would be almost impossible to find a town without one now.

But what’s your favorite? You don’t have to settle for a simple bowl of ice cream. Thanks to some of the following people, here are some other choices.

• Ice cream sundaes – May be attributed to Ed Berners of Two Rivers, Wisconsin in 1881 when a customer requested his ice cream be served with some syrup normally used for sodas. Berner charged a nickel for it. George Giffy, a competitor in another Wisconsin town, decided to serve the same thing but charged a dime and only served it on Sundays calling it an Ice Cream Sunday. It was so popular, he decided to change it to Ice Cream Sundae so he could serve it every day.
• The Ice Cream Cone was introduced in 1904 at the World’s Fair in St. Louis
• We can thank British chemists for discovering a way to double the amount of air in ice cream and giving us soft ice cream.
• The Good Humor Ice Cream Bar was invented by Harry Burt in 1920. And soon  ice cream trucks covered the land.

So if and when you need a little comfort–and who doesn’t these days–maybe you can pick your favorite and cozy up with a little ice cream.  Oh, and if you’re watching your weight and don’t want all those calories, there’s a yummy alternative I’ve discovered. It comes in lots of flavors, but here’s my favorite. Enjoy!

Hey, and I’d love it if you’d leave a comment, and tell me your favorite!