How did ancient civilizations make ice cream? - Vivian Jiang

Summary

The video by Vivian Jiang, presented by TED-Ed, delves into the historical journey of ice cream and its cultural significance. Initially, icy treats were meant for the royal elites, with inventive techniques from various ancient civilizations facilitating their creation. The spread and adaptation of these treats across different cultures and eras, from Persian sharbats to Neapolitan recipes, led to the birth of the modern ice cream we know today. Ice cream saw commercialization and mass accessibility thanks to technological advances and entrepreneurial efforts, with its journey taking unique turns such as its pairing with soda during Prohibition. Today, ice cream remains a beloved treat worldwide.

Highlights

• Fidel Castro's love for ice cream almost became his downfall in a CIA plot. 🕵️‍♂️
• Ancient civilizations used ingenious methods to create icy treats for royalty. 👑
• Ice cream's transition from a royal delicacy to a global love affair. 🌎
• The invention of the ice cream-making machine revolutionized home dessert-making. 🛠️
• Soda fountains became popular social spots combining soda and ice cream. 🍨

Key Takeaways

• Ice cream originated from ancient Persian, Roman, and Chinese techniques. 🍦
• The first cream-based ice cream traced back to a Neapolitan recipe in 1692. 📜
• Innovations in the 18th and 19th centuries made ice cream accessible to the masses. 🚀
• Ice cream, once a luxury, became a staple in American culture, especially during Prohibition. 🇺🇸
• Today, ice cream continues to evolve, capturing the hearts of many worldwide. 🌍

Overview

Imagine a hot afternoon in 1963, where a CIA plot to poison Fidel Castro gets thwarted by an unlikely hero - ice cream! While this is more of a humorous sidenote in ice cream's illustrious history, it highlights the dessert’s intriguing past. The journey of ice cream is traced back to early civilizations which had the challenge of keeping things cold, but the allure of icy treats for royals was strong enough to inspire all kinds of inventive solutions, from sky cooling in Persia to ice shipments in the Roman empire.

As tastes and travels expanded, so did the idea of ice as a dessert. Sherbets and sharbats from Persia influenced later European versions which eventually led to the creation of the first known ice cream recipe in Naples, Italy in 1692. Fast forward to America, where ice cream finds its stride, thanks in large part to Nancy Johnson’s crank machine invention and innovations in the ice trade. Ice cream went from a decadent indulgence for the rich to a staple enjoyed by nearly everyone by the late 19th century.

The 20th century sees ice cream becoming intrinsically tied to American culture. Saloons turned into soda fountains during Prohibition, and iconic brands emerged. Advancements in refrigeration technology allowed for ice cream to be enjoyed worldwide all year round. From its royal beginnings to street corners, ice cream remains a symbol of happiness, inventive spirit, and cultural adaptation. This cherished treat continues to thrive and evolve, delighting people of all ages across the globe.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: The CIA's Foiled Ice Cream Plot In 1963, the CIA attempted to assassinate Fidel Castro by sneaking into the Havana Libre Hotel to poison his chocolate milkshake with a pill retrieved from the freezer. Castro was known for consuming large amounts of ice cream, which made this plan feasible. The story's details are contested and largely speculative.
• 00:30 - 01:30: Ancient Cold Desserts and Freezing Techniques The chapter titled 'Ancient Cold Desserts and Freezing Techniques' explores the historical significance of ice cream and cold desserts. It begins with an anecdote about a failed CIA plan involving ice cream and Castro, highlighting how ice cream has been a part of cultural and historical contexts. The narrative then delves into the historical origins of ice desserts and iced drinks, tracing back to the first century in various ancient civilizations, including Rome, Mughal India, and the Tang dynasty in China.
• 01:30 - 02:30: The Emergence of Cream-Based Ice Treats The chapter 'The Emergence of Cream-Based Ice Treats' explores the early history of frozen desserts, highlighting how they were initially exclusive to royal elites. It describes the challenges of freezing delicacies, such as the efforts of Mediterranean nobility who would gather glacial ice from mountains, and the innovative methods used by ancient Persians, like creating insulated pools for night-time sky cooling.
• 02:30 - 03:30: Ice Cream's Journey to North America The chapter titled 'Ice Cream's Journey to North America' delves into the origins and evolution of ice cream. It discusses how the concept was inspired by the Arabic drink sharbat, an icy beverage thought to have originated in Persia and became popular in the Middle Ages. European travelers adapted this concept and began experimenting with various flavors such as chocolate, pinecone, and eggplant, eventually leading to the cream-based treat we know today.
• 03:30 - 04:30: Innovations in Ice Cream Making and Distribution The chapter discusses the evolution of ice cream making and distribution, tracing its origins back to a 1692 recipe by Neapolitan chef Antonio Latini, considered by some as the first true ice cream. It highlights the spread of ice cream to North America in the 18th century as European recipes traveled with settlers, noting that during this period, ice cream was a luxury due to the labor-intensive process and costly ingredients such as sugar, salt, and cream.
• 04:30 - 05:30: Ice Cream's Golden Age and Social Impact This chapter discusses the history and significance of ice cream, highlighting its popularity in America, starting from George Washington's era who was known to spend substantial sums on it. The chapter marks the golden age of ice cream in the U.S., emphasizing the role of inventors and entrepreneurs. It specifically mentions Nancy Johnson from Philadelphia, who, in 1843, patented an innovative ice cream-making machine with a crank and beater, laying the foundation for ice cream's mass production and social impact.
• 05:30 - 07:30: Modernization and the Future of Ice Cream This chapter discusses the advancements in ice cream storage and distribution in the 19th century. The development of ice trade by Frederic Tudor, known as the 'Ice King,' played a crucial role in making ice cream accessible to ordinary people around the world. This availability led to ice cream becoming a common treat, found on street corners. Additionally, the late 1800s saw Italian immigrants bringing their ice cream-making skills to major cities, further popularizing the dessert globally.

How did ancient civilizations make ice cream? - Vivian Jiang Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 On a hot spring afternoon in 1963, two men, sent by the American CIA, snuck into the cafeteria of the Havana Libre Hotel. Their directive was to retrieve a poison pill from the freezer and slip it into the chocolate milkshake of Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader who was known to devour up to 18 scoops of ice cream after lunch. While exact details of the story are contested, it's rumored that the pill,
• 00:30 - 01:00 however, froze to the freezer coils and broke, foiling the CIA’s plan and granting Castro many more days to satiate his sweet tooth. Ice cream has held a unique role in our world’s history, culture, and cravings— but where did it come from? The first accounts of cold desserts and iced drinks date back as early as the first century. In civilizations including ancient Rome, Mughal India, and Tang dynasty China,
• 01:00 - 01:30 these icy treats were mainly enjoyed by the royal elites. And finding the means to freeze these delicacies wasn’t always easy. Wealthy Mediterranean nobility sent laborers to trek up high mountains to harvest glacial ice and snow. Meanwhile, ancient Persians built shallow insulated pools of water and utilized a technique known as sky cooling. At night, the shallow pools would naturally radiate heat into the dry desert skies,
• 01:30 - 02:00 causing them to dip below the ambient temperature and freeze. Yet the cream-based treat we know today made a much later debut. It was originally inspired by sherbet, or sharbat in Arabic, an icy drink believed to have originated in Persia, and subsequently gained popularity in the Middle Ages. European travelers brought sharbat recipes home, and began creating their own chocolate, pinecone, and even eggplant flavored takes on the refreshment.
• 02:00 - 02:30 In 1692, Antonio Latini, a Neapolitan chef, recorded a recipe for a unique milk-based version, which some historians dub the first ice cream. In the 18th century, ice cream expanded its reach as these recipes set sail alongside European settlers to North America. Yet it was still mainly enjoyed by the upper classes as the process to make it was quite laborious, and its main ingredients— sugar, salt, and cream— were expensive.
• 02:30 - 03:00 George Washington is said to have spent the equivalent of $6,600 in today’s dollars on ice cream in one summer alone. It was on American soil that the frozen dessert entered its golden age, as inventors and entrepreneurs began to engineer ways to bring it to the masses. In Philadelphia in 1843, Nancy Johnson patented a revolutionary ice cream-making machine featuring a crank and beater,
• 03:00 - 03:30 which made the process easier for any home cook. And storing ice cream was no longer an obstacle, as by the mid-1830s, New England businessman “Ice King” Frederic Tudor had greatly improved the ice trade, shipping thousands of tons of ice to households across the globe. Soon, ice cream was on every street corner. In the late 1880s, political turmoil brought Italian immigrants to cities like London, Glasgow, and New York,
• 03:30 - 04:00 where many took up jobs as street vendors selling licks of ice cream for roughly a penny each. Meanwhile, American druggists discovered the appeal of combining soda, a drink thought to have therapeutic properties at the time, with ice cream, and a new social spot was born: the soda fountain. When the sale of alcohol was banned in 1920, many American saloons reinvented themselves as soda fountains,
• 04:00 - 04:30 and breweries like Anheuser-Busch and Yuengling pivoted to producing ice cream. At the same time, refrigeration technology was improving rapidly. By the end of World War II, the average American home had a freezer that could house a quart of ice cream. Even trucks could be equipped with freezers full of frozen treats. Today, ice cream continues to take on new forms. And while some of its mysteries may never be solved, one thing is certain: our love for ice cream will never thaw.