Who Invented Ice Cream?

Wondering who invented ice cream is like wondering who invented wine as it goes back thousands of years. Ice cream is said to have originated in China where they mixed ice and milk to create their own concoctions around 3000 years ago. 

The Persian Empire also showed signs of early ice cream creation whether it be due to ideas passed on from China or their own invention. Persian people, especially rulers, would store ice from the winter in underground cellars or send servants to the mountain tops to retrieve more ice. This ice would be eaten with a berry topping or syrup much like a modern-day snow-cone. This technique was often left to the very wealthy who could afford such luxuries.

The idea of mixing both these techniques together came when a famous explorer and traveler, Marco Polo, who visited China. Marco Polo was amazed by the recipes and foods of this region and brought back the recipe of using mammal milk with ice to make a creamy food. When he brought this back to Europe, all the royalty and rich people were combining their flavored ice and snow with milk to make their own type of ice cream. 

This would evolve even further with the idea of sweetening the ice cream with sugar, an idea that came from Arab cities. The combination of all these different technique and recipes further combined with the idea that this was considered a luxury. Because royalty and presidents took part in serving ice cream, this led to the creation of modern ice cream and its continued popularity.