Who doesn't like ice cream? According to the International Dairy Foods Association, 3.7 million tons of it are consumed in the US each year alone – an average of 23lbs per person. But, while we are only too eager to guzzle it down, we seldom pause to consider how our favourite frozen dessert came into being.
‘Ices' – that is to say, desserts made of ice or snow – have been around for millennia. As far back as the fifth century BC, the ancient Greeks were refreshing themselves with snow flavoured with honey or fruits. Although Hippocrates famously disparaged snow-water as unhealthy and warned his patients to steer clear of chilled drinks (which he thought produced ‘fluxes of the stomach'), these icy treats enjoyed tremendous popularity throughout the Aegean – so much so that, one hundred years later, no less a figure than Alexander the Great could be counted among their admirers.
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