History of ice cream-a favorite treat of all generations and seasons
Ice cream similar to the delicacy we love and know today was first made at the Royal Palace in China about 10 centuries ago. The recipe was then a top secret. Snow and ice for cooling and ice cream preparation were brought by the fastest slaves on their backs from the surroundings of present-day Beijing. Ice cream was then called “Imperial Dessert”. Content included crumbled pieces of pure ice, pieces of fruit and medicinal spices. The recipe was later perfected by adding whipped fat from milk. Today, ice and milk fat are the only similarities with this original recipe. The famous Croatian sailor Marco Polo brought the recipe to Europe. Due to the taste and beauty, ice cream is soon served in all the most prominent courtyards of that time.
It was not until the late 18th century that ice cream gained the status of a popular dessert in some other parts of the world. There was a chapter “ice creams” in cookbooks or recipe books from the 19th century. Then this dessert appears on the menu of the most famous restaurants in the world. Thus, in the then Russian Sankt Peterburg, there was a real culinary masterpiece, i.e. ice cream called “Happy on Mont Blanc” made of vanilla topped with a glaze of rum and cognac that would be lit in front of a guest in a restaurant. Then there is the custom of taking out ice cream in balls of various colors and flavors. The famous Russian writer Mikhail Lermontov ordered his own chef to make ice cream on the menu every day and a mandatory part of lunch. Hand-made ice cream manufacturing dates back to the late 19th century. At that time, there was no machine that would mix ice cream at intervals in rooms with ice, so the whole process of making ice cream was done by hand. In 1842, the Russian merchant and innovator Ivan Isler patented the first ice cream maker. Refrigeration equipment was found in the early 20th century. Then the facilitated production of ice cream spread to the rest of the world. In the 1930s, complete and well-organized ice cream production began. The first store with complete and necessary equipment is opening within the Moscow dairy collective farm or agricultural combine. Then the so-called “Russian ice cream” or sour cream ice cream began to be produced. This small production was not enough to cover the needs of the population, while the machines quickly broke down. With the opening of the first ice cream factory in 1937 in the former USSR, mass production of this dessert began. U.S. experts are lending equipment and production methods, which increases production to 25 tons of ice cream a day. Then the production of ice cream becomes an important activity of the food industry. Russian ice cream made of first-class fat milk “plombir” was also loved by foreign tourists when visiting Moscow, i.e. the Bolshoi Theater, the Kremlin, the circus and the ice cream factory. The price of ice cream was uniform for the entire territory of the state. It was 9 kopecks for fruit and 30 kopecks for vanilla ice cream with pieces of chocolate and hazelnuts. Toppings were bought separately and only two types of fruit and chocolate. In restaurants, there was the so-called “adult ice cream” in tall glass with the addition of various liqueurs and champagne. In those years, table calendars and city posters with ice cream were fashionable. The production of Soviet ice cream stops at the beginning of perestroika. Reforms under Mikhail Gorbachev. Ice cream quality assessment standards have changed. Soviet ice cream was declared expensive and inadequate. Ice cream is then imported but natural ingredients are replaced with emulsifiers, stabilizers, palm oil and artificial colors and flavors. Today’s ice cream manufacturers in Russia are trying to restore the old food standards. The most popular type was Eskimo ice cream on a wooden stick made of vanilla topped with chocolate. In Soviet times, Eskimo was sold only as a briquette or a piece of cube, and the stick was packed in a special aluminum foil. Eskimo was so popular that it still has a holiday today, i.e. January 24 is marked as an ice cream day. The most tender and delicious type is ice cream. The name comes from the French city of Plombier le Ben where confectioners made this ice cream and named the honor to this city. It is ice cream with sour cream but without milk. Sugar and eggs are added and later natural aromas of vanilla and chocolate. Plombir is a classic among ice creams around the world.
There is an exclusive restaurant in Moscow today that offers over 800 types of ice cream all year round. In this restaurant ice cream is an appetizer, main course, side dish, salad and dessert. Reservations for a table in this restaurant should wait up to several months. Here you can try squid ice cream, seafood, various French cheeses, avocados, pumpkins and the like. The most famous ice cream of this restaurant has a metallic color and contains honey, pollen powder and Viagra. Baked ice cream from this restaurant is prepared similarly to a hamburger. Frozen balls of blended meat and ice cream are rolled in bread crumbs and fried for only 3 minutes in hot butter. They are served right next to moldy cheese ice cream and tomato juice. In this restaurant you can always try some experimental varieties such as garlic and hot peppers topped with bitter chocolate. Pea, eel or octopus ice cream topped with wasabi sauce is also delicious.
Today, there are various types of ice cream on the market with different composition, taste and method of preparation. The classification of ice cream back 2 centuries according to Russian craftsmen is:
Ice cream – with sweet sour cream and without milk
Cream-base with sour cream and whipped cream
Dairy- with powdered milk
Sorbet-frozen mass of natural fruit juice or porridge. Alcoholic liqueur or cognac is added so that the dessert does not freeze completely.
Fruit ice-frozen fruit juice mixed before serving.

The highest ice cream factory in the world:

The highest ice cream factory in the world.