Ice Cream: The Ultimate Cold Comfort

The trouble is we don’t know who made that first dish of vanilla, strawberry or triple chocolate chunk ice cream. That may explain why there are candidates for the honor all over the world. Some give the ancient Romans credit for inventing ice cream, but although they did send their slaves off to the mountains to get snow, they didn’t make ice cream with it. They poured syrup on it and ate it, or they used it to chill their wines or fruit.

At the turn of the twenty-first century, Americans were eating 23 quarts of ice cream per person, per year, more than any other country. Vanilla was America’s favorite flavor, with chocolate coming in second. The health issues associated with ice cream were no longer colic and cold stomachs; they were fat and cholesterol. Nevertheless, premium and super-premium ice cream sales were growing, and low-fat ice cream sales were shrinking. Manufacturers were researching the possibility of adding Omega-3 fatty acids to ice cream to give it the health benefits associated with salmon.

With all the premium ice creams on the market today, why make your own? Because it’s easy and it’s fun. You don’t need ice and salt for today’s ice cream makers, and they’re affordable and simple to use. You control the ingredients so you know exactly what’s in your ice cream. No guar gum or salmon required. You can use your imagination, experiment with flavors and add your own chunky bits. You, like me, can make ice cream that’s parfaite.

Jeri Quinzio is a freelance writer and past president of the Culinary Historians of Boston. Jeri has contributed to the Radcliffe Culinary Times and Gastronomica.