Ice cream has a long and complicated history, dating back to ancient times. It went through many changes during the years until it became the delicious frozen treat that is loved by millions of people worldwide today.

No one knows who made the first frozen dessert, butEmperor Nero, who ruled over the Roman Empire from 54-68 A.D., is often credited as its inventor. He continually sent slaves into the mountains to retrieve snow, which he then flavored with honey, nectar, and fruit pulp. Thirteenth century adventurer Marco Polo brought a recipe that resembled sherbet to Italy after a journey to the Far East. The recipe was said to have been used in Asia for hundreds of years.

Sometime in the sixteenth century, cream was added to the recipe. The wife of Henry the Second, Catherine de Medici, introduced ice cream to France. From there it spread throughout Europe, quickly becoming a popular dish for nobility. Ice cream was not available to the general public until the year 1660.

The first account of ice cream in America comes from a 1744 letter written by a guest of William Bladen, the governor of Maryland. On November 25, 1773, the first ice cream advertisement appeared in the New York Gazetteer. Until the invention of insulated ice houses around the year 1800, ice cream was enjoyed mainly by the rich and elite. Soon afterwards, the manufacturing of ice cream became an industry. As ice cream became more widely available, inventions like the ice cream soda (1874), ice cream sundae (late 1890’s), and ice cream cone (1904) were enjoyed by everyone, regardless of income.