Who Invented the Ice Cream Cone?
November 12, 2015Americans have been enjoying ice cream on a cone for over a century. The ice cream cone was actually invented independently by two people and has evolved into the waffle cones, sugar cones, and wafer cones we enjoy today. Italo Marchiony, who immigrated to New York City from Italy in the late 1800s, is credited with inventing the ice cream cone. He produced the first one in 1896 and obtained a patent for it in December 1903. Ernest A. Hamwi, a Syrian concessionaire, introduced an ice cream cone independently at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Hamwi was selling zalabis, a crisp, waffle-like pastry, in a booth next to an ice cream vendor. The ice cream was so popular that the vendor ran out of dishes. Hamwi helped out by rolling one of his waffles into the shape of a cone, which he called a cornucopia, and giving it to…
Read MoreA Brief History of Ice Cream
October 15, 2015Ice cream has been around in various forms since the second century B.C., but it is unclear exactly when it was invented or by whom. Alexander the Great enjoyed eating snow and ice flavored with honey and nectar. King Solomon liked to consume iced drinks during the harvest season. Roman Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar often sent runners into the mountains to retrieve snow that was flavored with fruits and juices. Over 1,000 years later, Marco Polo returned to Italy from his travels in the Far East with a recipe for a dessert similar to sherbet. Historians believe that ice dream was developed from this recipe sometime in the 1500s. England discovered ice cream around that time, or possibly even earlier. Charles I ate it regularly in the 17th century. When Catherine de Medici of Italy married Henry II in 1553, she introduced ice cream to France. Ice cream was not…
Read MoreScientists Create Slower-Melting Ice Cream
October 7, 2015An ice cream cone is a welcome treat on a hot summer day, but it can make your hands sticky when it melts. Scientists have found a solution to that messy problem. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom found that a protein called BsIA can keep the ingredients in ice cream combined while making the texture smoother and slowing down the rate at which it melts. BsIA is normally found in large bacterial communities in biofilm structures, which are clusters of microorganisms that clump together on a surface. The outer structure of a biofilm gets its structural stability from the extracellular matrix, a collection of molecules that are secreted by the cells. The matrix is made up of proteins, polysaccharides, and extracellular DNA. BsIA creates a hydrophobic coat on the biofilm’s outer surface that repels water. It also creates a stable…
Read MoreFinland to Drop Tax on Ice Cream and Candy
October 1, 2015Finnish regulators have announced that they plan to eliminate a tax on ice cream and confectionery at the beginning of 2017. Finland’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy announced the change after the European Commission said the tax unfairly favors Finnish producers of sweets because imported ice cream and candy are charged the tax on top of import duties. The change came about as a result of two complaints. The tax on sweets was introduced to reduce consumption of sugar. The measure was in effect from 1926 to 1999 and was reintroduced in 2011. A rate of 0.95 euro is charged for every kilo of confectionery or liter of ice cream, which are considered to be equivalent. It is estimated that Finland has collected 109 million euros ($121.6 million) in revenue from the tax in 2015. That total consisted of about 80 million euros for confectionery and 30 million euros for…
Read More5-Year-Old Girl Buys Troopers Ice Cream after Funeral
September 23, 2015Isabella Gregory, a 5-year-old Kentucky girl, decided to use her allowance money to buy ice cream sundaes for a group of state troopers who stopped at a restaurant after attending a funeral for a colleague, Trooper Joseph Ponder, who was killed after a traffic stop earlier this month. The troopers were all physically and emotionally drained and had not eaten since about 5:30 a.m. Isabella saw the sad-looking troopers and decided that she wanted to buy them ice cream to cheer them up. Her mom, Sarah Yockey, thought that was a great idea. Isabella bought a total of eight sundaes for the troopers. She also bought a meal for one of the troopers after he found himself 10 cents short. The family was in the area to attend Isabella’s 7-year-old brother’s football practice. The children stopped to watch the funeral procession. Isabella waved to people passing by in the procession…
Read MoreWhat Causes ‘Brain Freeze?’
September 18, 2015Many people who enjoy ice cream are familiar with “brain freeze,” a mind-numbing headache that can be caused by eating frozen treats. Scientists are still not entirely sure what causes the feeling, but they have some theories. The phenomenon of headaches caused by ice cream has been written about in medical literature since at least the 1850s. The International Headache Society formally recognized the condition, which it called “cold stimulus headache,” in 1988. The 2013 revision of the International Classification of Headache Disorders said the pain is triggered when a cold stimulus is applied to the head or mouth and subsides quickly after the stimulus is removed. Cold stimulus headaches typically occur just behind the forehead, but they can also occur near the ears or behind the eyes. The pain is usually intense, stabbing, and unpleasant, albeit short-lived. The scientific name for these headaches is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, or nerve pain…
Read MoreTime to Get Ready for Fall Ice Cream Flavors
September 10, 2015Now that the Labor Day weekend is behind us, it’s time to turn our attention to fall. That’s right. Don’t think of Labor Day as the end of the summer. Think of it as the beginning of fall. Ice cream isn’t just for summer. America’s favorite treat is also sweet in the fall. Praline’s recognizes this fact and is ready to deliver some sensational fall ice cream flavors: • Pumpkin Ginger Snap. Let’s start with our newest seasonal flavor. This treat features ginger snap cookies blended right into our creamy Pumpkin Ice Cream. • Pumpkin Ice Cream. Oh, did we mention pumpkin ice cream? Yep, it’s back. At a time of year when all things pumpkin are celebrated, ice cream lovers will certainly enjoy this sweet treat. • Apple Caramel Crumb. Fall also means picking apples and pie season. This is why our Apple Caramel Crumb ice cream is so…
Read MoreUsing Ice Cream to Encourage Bike Safety
September 3, 2015As we wind down the summer season, folks will be looking to enjoy the perks of summer one last weekend. We’re talking about things like bike rides and a trip to a favorite ice cream shop. In fact, one ambulance service found a way to tie in bike riding safety and ice cream. Earlier this summer, an ambulance service in Johnson County, Iowa spearheaded a public education campaign on the importance of bicycle safety. The campaign highlighted the importance of wearing a helmet, having lights on bicycles and obeying traffic laws. The ambulance service offered coupons for free ice cream cones from local ice cream parlors to young bike riders who were spotted practicing safe cycling. Ambulance service members who were not on active calls would set up near areas known for high volumes of bicycle traffic. They wanted to get the message of safe cycling out to bike riders.…
Read MoreVery Old Ice Cream
August 27, 2015Talk about freezer burn. How’s this for very old ice cream? Some folks across the pond got a true taste of ice cream from centuries ago. This week, the Kingston Palace in the United Kingdom hosted Queen Caroline’s Garden Party. This is an annual event that celebrates “the glittering Georgian court of King George II and his fascinating wife Queen Caroline.” The era being celebrated to place in 1732. That’s a long time ago in a country not too far away. Two Georgian-era flavored ice cream were available at the party: Chocolate water ice and orange blossom with apricot. This is interesting because Georgian ice cream were known for unique flavors like cinnamon, rose sorbet and lemon and brandy. These ice cream recipes from hundreds of years ago require just two buckets, salt and ice. The ice would be ground for about 45 minutes. The recipe calls for less sugar…
Read MoreThe Ice Cream Truck Jingle Lawsuit
August 20, 2015You’ve heard the jingle. If you’ve ever grown up in an area where the ice cream truck rolls by in the summer, you know the Mister Softee ice cream truck jingle. It’s iconic. The jingle, much like Mister Softee himself, has been around 1956. It was trademarked in 1960. But now, the jingle is embroiled in a legal controversy. And that is not cool. Mister Softee (well, the guy who owns Mister Softee) is suing a rival ice cream truck for allegedly stealing that trademarked jingle. Mister Softee says the Brooklyn, New York-based ice cream truck is using the Mister Softee jingle to peddle its own ice cream. The lawsuit filed Mister Softee earlier this month alleges trademark infringement. Ice cream is about fun. Yet, Mister Softee sees no good humor in this ice cream truck jingle affair. When ice cream trucks move from the city streets and quiet neighborhoods…
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