I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream

Ice Cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. This was one of my mom’s favorite sayings. And when pronounced, typically indicated that some sort of ice cream treat would soon be enjoyed.

The penny lick was the precursor to the ice cream cone.It was sold for a - you guessed it - penny in a reusable glass container.

Thinking back to my childhood, it’s interesting to take inventory of just how many events concluded with ice cream. Trips to our cabin on the lake, summer socials at the church, baseball games, and adventures in Glacier National Park. Dairy Queen. Ice Cream Socials. Dairy King - yep, we had the royal ice cream family. A&W Rootbeer.

The History of Ice Cream - Sort of…

Ice Cream’s history spans thousands of years across this big blue marble. From China to the Sahara, from the Persian Empire to the Greek Empire evidence of this frozen dessert’s past has been unearthed. But how did this frozen confection become one of America’s favorite desserts? As with most origin stories some have a bit of truth entwined with great story-telling.

You probably recognize these three folks. If not, from left to right, Napoleon Bonaparte, Katherine de Medici, and Thomas Jefferson. Each of them are reported to have helped bring ice cream into the public awareness.

One such story includes Marco Polo, Catherine de Medici, and Thomas Jefferson. As the story goes, amongst the many exotic foods introduced to Italy by the intrepid adventurer, Marco Polo, was a frozen dessert that had enjoyed in China since 2000 BCE. More of a frozen rice pudding, this early frozen dessert is reported to have consisted of rice paste, milk, and spices and then packed in ice brought down from the mountains.

Once in Florence, this frozen mixture evolved into an exclusive, sophisticated treat for its wealthiest of citizens. So sophisticated, in fact, that noblewoman Catherine de’Medici required it to be served at her wedding to Henry II, the future king of France. In addition to allegedly introducing ice cream to the unsophisticated French, Catherine is also credited with bringing table manners, the fork, and meals served in courses.

It’s likely that francophile, Thomas Jefferson, encountered this rich, creamy confection while acting as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Versailles. While not the first to introduce the frozen dessert to the United States, Jefferson can be credited for the first recorded written recipe as well as popularizing the confection during his presidency.

A penny lick vendor with his happy customers. Just wait until the cone is invented young ones. You are in for a really special treat - without the concern of transmitting things like tuberculosis.

It would be about 100 years after Jefferson’s Presidency that the first ice cream cone would be enjoyed. During the mid-1800’s, scoops of ice cream were served in penny licks, small glass cups designed to hold a “lick” of ice cream. Street vendors would sell a serving of ice cream for a penny. Once the ice cream was consumed the glass cup would be given back to the vendor, the satiated customer would be on their way, and a new customer would be served the next scoop of ice cream and possibly a case of tuberculosis. Not the most sanitary of practices.

After traversing the 83 acres of the St. Louis World’s fair a penny lick would have been a welcome treat. I wonder what the first customer to taste the newest ice cream confection, the ice cream cone thought?

It was during the St. Louis World’s Fair, that one of these penny lick vendors ran out of his penny lick containers - I suspect that his customers wanted a souvenir of their visit to the fair. Frantic, the vendor noticed his fellow vendor making waffles and asked if he thought he could fashion the waffle into a cone shape that would hold the penny lick vendor’s ice cream confection. And so was born the ice cream cone. Delicious and so much more sanitary.

So, I would like to take a moment to thank the Tang Dynasty, Napoleon, Catherine de’Medici, Thomas Jefferson and the unprepared penny lick vendor for each of their contributions, factual or anecdotical, to this much loved frozen confection.

What’s your favorite ice cream treat?

Ice cream treats of course! You won’t want to miss June’s recipes. From a unique ice cream recipe to a Cookie for…Sundaes, each recipe celebrates one of America’s favorite summer treats.

---

Let’s Connect!

Find me on Instagram @leigh_olson, join the Family Recipes, Traditions, and Food Lore community on Facebook, or subscribe to The Heritage Cookbook Project on Substack.

Do you have a recipe, tradition, or story you think would make a great visual narrative, send me an email at connect@theheritagecookbookproject.com.

If you would like to further support this project, there are a couple of ways that you can become a patron subscriber. Choose one of the paid tiers here, purchase something from my Amazon wish list, or buy me a tea - I know it says Buy Me a Coffee, but I’m a tea gal.

Coffee is good, but my preference is tea. Here are some of my favorite tea cups.

If you aren’t able to support monetarily, sharing this with a friend really helps to grow our delicious community.