Everyone loves ice cream as a frosty sweet treat whatever the weather. In fact, British people love it so much that they eat a whopping eight litres on average per person every year. Yet the UK is only third-biggest ice-cream consumer in Europe and Americans eat a mind-boggling 21 litres of ice cream each per year.
In Britain, ice cream is first mentioned as one of the dishes served during a banquet for King Charles II in 1671. But only the lucky few dining at Charles’s table were allowed to eat the luxury treat that the king had discovered during his exile in France.
The first ice-cream recipes were closely guarded secrets and the chefs who mastered them commanded high wages for their skills. In one of the many mythic stories surrounded the history of ice cream, King Charles II was so impressed with a French cook who made it that he gave him a lifetime tenure at the palace. In another, the king was so determined to keep the recipe secret that he had the unlucky cook put to death.
The invention of the ice-cream machine and the importation of ice from Norway and Canada to the UK and US made ice cream more accessible to everyone during the 19th century. American president George Washington even invested in his own ice-cream machine and spent a fruitful summer concocting his own recipes.
The invention of modern refrigeration techniques in the early part of the 20th century made ice cream easier to make, transport and store, turning if from a rarity into an everyday indulgence. Five per cent of Britons have tried to whip up their own recipes but most ice-cream lovers stick to the old favourites. When you’re standing in front of the ice cream display freezer on a sunny day, which flavour would you choose?
The most popular ice cream is traditional vanilla, the flavour that was served in the royal banquet for King Charles II and still the most widely consumed ice cream in the world. Vanilla has a versatile flavour and can be served with a variety of toppings and sauces, the most popular of which is chocolate sauce, of course.
The second most popular choice is chocolate-flavoured ice cream. Originally invented over 100 years ago, chocolate ice cream is made by adding cocoa powder along with the eggs, cream, vanilla and sugar at the blending stage.
Strawberry ice cream is consistently the third most popular flavour, while at number four is a blend of all three flavours. Neapolitan ice cream is simply blocks of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream frozen together. Invented in the late 19th century, Neapolitan ice cream has its origins in the Italian city of Naples, which was rightfully famous for its ice-cream makers.
Last but not least in the top five most popular flavours is chocolate-chip ice cream. Chocolate chips are usually added to vanilla ice cream but can also be added to either chocolate or mint ice cream too.
