photo credit: skye820
Who doesn’t love ice cream? Ice cream has become one of the most popular desserts in the United States and the rest of the world. Worldwide, ice cream has become a multi-billion dollar industry that is getting bigger and bigger each year. While we’ve all experience ice cream from a small age, the history of this food item is actually quite interesting.
Ice cream is basically a frozen dessert that is made of various ingredients typically consisting milk, cream and sugar. To add flavor to ice cream, flavorings are added to the concoction. Those flavorings are what give each version of ice cream its name. For example, vanilla ice cream has vanilla flavoring added while chocolate ice cream has chocolate flavoring added.
A key aspect in making ice cream is that it is stirred slowly during the freezing process to keep the concoction from freezing solid. As a result of the stirring, ice cream has a smooth texture, which makes it easier to eat. While there are many different types of ice cream variations, the basic principles are basically the same.
The origins of ice cream date all the way back to ancient civilizations. Humans have long enjoyed cold desserts and have made inventions to have cold desserts year round. For those ancient civilizations that lived in warm climates, that meant transporting and storing ice in a way that kept the ice from melting. Ice would then be used to create cold desserts even if it were the middle of summer.
photo credit: eob
Flavored ice was another key step in the direction of modern day ice cream. Italy and France in the 1500’s and 1600’s began to see the distribution of flavored ice. While similar to ice cream, flavored ice was much simpler. Basically, flavored ice consisted of crushed ice and a single flavor added on top of the crushed ice. For example, crushed ice would be topped with honey to create honey flavored crushed ice.
The first true reports of ice cream came in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1700’s. In fact, a recipe for ice cream was published in 1718 that gave detailed instructions on how to make ice cream. By the late 1760’s, complete recipe books were being written dedicated to ice cream.
In the United States, ice cream first gained popularity in the early 1800’s. Notable Americans such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were said to enjoy ice cream in the city of New York. Once ice cream started to become popular, it didn’t take much time for it to explode onto the American scene for good. By the 20th century, ice cream had become a staple of American dessert options. Today, ice cream is a worldwide favorite that is served in nearly every country on the planet.
Many major brands have emerged that have become household brand names. Here is a look at some of the biggest ice cream companies in the world:
Baskin-Robbins
Formed in Glendale, California in 1945 by Irv Robbins and Burt Baskin, Baskin-Robbins is one of the world’s largest chain of ice cream parlors. All told, Baskin-Robbins has approximately 6,000 worldwide locations, with about half of those locations being in the United States.
Originally known for having 31 flavors of ice cream, Baskin-Robbins offers customers a taste of each flavor until they found one they like. While some Baskin-Robbins stores now offer more than 31 flavors, it was their original 31 flavors that helped make this company as famous as it is today.
Ben & Jerry’s
Headquartered in the state of Vermont, Ben & Jerry’s makes an assortment of frozen dessert items. However, it is their ice cream that the company is most famous for producing. Founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, those two founders have become famous for their love for ice cream and their social activism.
Ben & Jerry’s is known for having adventurous flavors of ice cream. The company doesn’t back down from combining any flavors if it believes the result will be a tasty ice cream.
Blue Bell Creameries
Although Blue Bell Creameries is only offered in 17 states in the United States, it ranks as one of the nation’s leading sellers of ice cream. The 17 states in which Blue Bell Creameries serves are almost all in the southern half of the country. Dating back to 1907, this ice cream company is also one of the oldest in the country.
Headquartered in Texas, Blue Bell Creameries has over a 50% market share of Texas ice cream sales. In all, the company has approximately 250 ice cream products and its ice cream is annually regarded as some of the best in the country.
Breyers Ice Cream
Dating back to 1866, Breyers Ice Cream has been a leading ice cream manufacturer for more than 100 years. The company is currently headquartered in Massachusetts and ships its ice cream products to most of the states in the United States.
Breyers Ice Cream is known for its pledge of purity, which is a promise by the company to use all natural ingredients in its ice cream. With a variety of flavors and a large fan base of loyal customers, Breyers Ice Cream has become a household name.
Dreyer’s/Edy’s
Depending on where you are in the United States, you will know this ice cream by a different name. In the western part of the United States, this ice cream is marketed under the name Dreyer’s. In the eastern part of the United States, the company instead uses the name Edy’s.
Within the last decade, Dreyer’s/Edy’s has been purchased by Neslte. In addition to typical ice cream offerings, Dreyer’s/Edy’s also offers a line of “light” ice cream products that have less calories than usual
Haagen-Dazs
Although Haagen-Dazs is a relatively new ice cream company, it has exploded in popularity quickly. Reuben and Rose Mattus, who were Polish immigrants, started Haagen-Dazs in 1959 and opened their first store in 1975. From their beginnings in the state of New York, Haagen-Dazs is now a worldwide company that offers ice cream in more than 50 countries.
Check out these homemade ice cream recipes.
Serious Vanilla Ice Cream
By Alton Brown
Ingredients
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons peach preserves (not jelly)
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Instructions
Combine all ingredients (including the bean and its pulp) in a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Attach a frying or candy thermometer to inside of pan. (see note below) Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to 170 degrees F. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove the hull of the vanilla bean, pour mixture into lidded container and refrigerate mixture overnight to mellow flavors and texture.
Freeze mixture in ice cream freezer according to unit’s instructions. The mixture will not freeze hard in the machine. Once the volume has increased by 1/2 to 3/4 times, and reached a soft serve consistency, spoon the mixture back into a lidded container and harden in the freezer at least 1 hour before serving.
NOTE: If you do not have a thermometer, bring the mixture just barely to a simmer. As soon as you see a bubble hit the surface, remove it from the heat. Do not let it boil.
Easy Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients
2 cups skim milk
6 oz can evaporated milk
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 bananas, mashed
Instructions
In a large bowl, mix tskim milk, evaporated milk, sugar and vanilla.
Pour into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions.
After the ice cream is done freezing but not solid, add the bananas and mix them in.
Place the ice cream in a freezer container and seal.
Freeze 12 hours and serve.
