Today ice cream comes in a wide variety of exotic to traditional flavors. A range of mind blogging flavors and delicious frozen novelties such as classic vanilla, seasonal mango delight, ice-cream cakes, ice-cream sandwiches and plenty more is available everywhere. Chocolate chip flavor, pistachio, tutti-frutti, strawberry, mango, coconut, and kulfa flavor ice creams are in demand during hot summer weather.
Worldwide, around 15 billion liters (3.3 billion gallons) of ice cream are consumed every year, enough to fill 5,000 Olympic swimming pools. According to NASA, ice cream is among the top three items most missed by astronauts on space missions. The others are pizza and fizzy drink.
From snow to ice cream: The history of ice cream begins with ancient flavored snow. Its origins date back as far as 200 B.C., when people in China created a dish of rice mixed with milk that was then frozen by being packed in snow. The Chinese King Tang of Shang is thought to have had over ninety "ice men" who mixed flour, camphor, and buffalo milk with ice. The Chinese are also credited with inventing the first "ice cream machine." They had pots they filled with a syrupy mixture, which they then packed into a mixture of snow and salt.
Food Historians write that Alexander the great took pleasure by eating snow flavored with honey and nectar. Like wise Nero Claudius Caesar of Roman Empire 54-68 BC, got the pleasure eating snow mixed with fruits and juices. The ice was harvested from nearby mountains and held in "ice houses"-deep pits covered with straw.
In 400 BC, the Persians invented a special chilled food, made of rose water and vermicelli, which was served to royalty during summers. The ice was mixed with saffron, fruits, and various other flavors.
Morcoplo famous European traveler, of 16th century, on his way back to Italy from the Fareast brought with him recipe of a cold drink, which gradually developed, into ice cream. During the year 1553 Italian Catherine de Medici the wife of Henry II of France introduced frozen deserts to royal dinner table.
According to food historians in medieval times, Arabs drank an icy refreshment called sherbet, or sharabt in Arabic. These chilled drinks were often flavored with cherry, pomegranate, or quince. Over time, the drinks became popular with the European aristocracy. Italians are said to have mastered this drink-making technique, with the French following suit shortly after.
First official ice cream: Antonio Latina (1642-1692), a man working for a Spanish Viceroy in Naples, is credited with being the first person to write down a recipe for sorbet. He is also responsible for creating a milk-based sorbet, which most culinary historians consider the first "official" ice cream.
In 1686, The Sicilian Procopio introduced a recipe blending milk, cream, butter, and eggs at Café Procope, the first café in Paris. The café introduced gelato, the Italian version of sorbet, to the French public. It was served in small porcelain bowls resembling eggcups. Procopio became known as the "Father of Italian Gelato."
The first published English recipe was by Mrs. Mary Eagles (1718). Mrs. Eagles was a pioneer of ice cream recipes remained something of a rarity in English-language cookery books.
It is believed that ice cream was first introduced into the United States by Quaker colonists during 17th centuary who brought their ice cream recipes with them. In 1832 - African American confectioner, Augustus Jackson, created multiple ice cream recipes as well as a superior technique to manufacture ice cream. In 1920 - Harry Burt puts the first ice cream trucks on the streets. In America National Ice Cream Day is observed each year on the 3rd Sunday in July and is a part of National Ice Cream Month. This day is a fun celebration enjoyed with a bowl, cup or cone filled with favorite flavor of ice cream.
Be aware of good and bad effects of ice cream: This all time favorite frozen desert causes both positive and negative effects on our health. It is made by churning and chilling a mixture of high fat milk or cream, fructose or glucose based sweetener and flavorings. When the freezing is done, the rich creamy texture appears.
Ice cream is an energy dense food. According to the US Department of Agriculture, one-half cup of vanilla ice cream provides 137 kilocalories of energy, about twice the amount in one-half cup of whole milk. Ice cream is a good choice when you need energy.
A good quality ice cream is loaded with calcium, and minerals. Ice cream also contains many vitamins, including vitamins A, C, D and E, as well as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, foliate and vitamins B-6 and B-12. It also provides a small amount of vitamin K, an important blood-clotting factor. So always, choose good quality ice cream to get maximum benefits.
Ice cream stimulates a hormone of happiness and helps in reducing the levels of stress in the body. Ice cream is made of milk, which contains L-triptophane, which is a natural tranquilizer and helps in relaxing the nervous system. It also helps prevent symptoms of insomnia." Researchers of the Institute of Psychiatry in London tracked the brain activity of people eating vanilla ice cream. As soon as the participants swallowed ice cream, they saw an immediate effect on an area of the brain called the orbitofrontal cortex, a pleasure center that activates when people enjoy themselves.
According to a study by America, dieticians women who eat full fat, ice cream two or more times a week have less chances of infertility. Nutritionists warn that ice cream is a high-fat food. It contains milk fat, which is largely cholesterol, a saturated fat. When your blood cholesterol level is too high, it can build up as plaque, a fatty deposit in your arteries that interferes with blood flow and raises your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Ice cream is also high in sugar, which makes up the majority of its carbohydrate content. Consumption of too much sugar may contribute to health problems such as weight gain, cavities and increased levels of blood triglycerides, another unhealthy type of fat. High consumption of ice cream can also lead to high cholesterol, diabetes and weight gain. Avoid this frozen desert if you have allergy to lactose, a type of milk sugar.
Make ice cream at home:
Classic recipe:
Ingredients:
Four large egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean or 1-teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Method:
Whisk the yolks and sugar together in a medium bowl and whisk until combined.
Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Add vanilla essence into the milk, bring the milk to a simmer, then remove from heat.
Scoop out about 1 cup of the hot milk. Slowly pour it into the egg-sugar mixture. This warms the eggs and prevents them from curdling in the next step.
Slowly pour the egg-sugar mixture into the saucepan with the remaining milk.
Return the saucepan to low heat. Stir the mixture slowly. Keep cooking until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of the spatula.
Stir the heavy cream into the ice cream base. Leave it in the freezer to chill completely.
Transfer the ice cream base to the bowl of your ice cream machine. Churn until the base has thickened to a consistency somewhere between a very thick milkshake and soft-serve ice cream.
Transfer the churned ice cream to a freezer container. Press a piece of wax paper against the surface of the ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming. Freeze until solid, at least 4 hours.
Classic vanilla flavor ice cream is ready.
Instant way of making ice cream:
Ingredients:
600 ml cream
395 grams condensed milk sweetened
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
Beat cream and gradually add the condensed milk and keep beating until it thickens and becomes a nice cream.
Add mango chunk stir slowly.
Pour into a container and freeze until hard.