Assorted Ice Cream Facts Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marco Polo

Marco Polo was a traveler and explorer, among his other exploits Among some of the treasures he brought back from his journey to the Far East was a recipe for a frozen dessert that closely resembled what we refer to as sherbet.

Answer: France

The country that gave us bon-bons, the crepe suzette, the Eiffel Tower, among other notable enjoyments, had the distinction of being the first country to serve ice cream to the general public at the Cafe Procope, in 1670.

Answer: 1700

The first official account of ice cream comes from a letter written in 1700 by a guest of William Bladen, Maryland's governor at that time. In 1777 the first ad for ice cream appeared in the New York "Gazette". And records show that President George Washington spent about $200 for ice cream during the summer of 1790.

Answer: 5 million

Jacob Fussell is accredited with manufacturing ice cream into an industry in 1851. By 1899 five million gallons of ice cream were being produced, and that grew into 30 million gallons in 1909. In 1919 more than 150 million gallons was being produced.

But that's nothing compared to the estimated 900 million gallons that is produced today, which doesn't even include frozen treats like yogurt, sherbet, and other frosty delectables.

Answer: Carbonated water was left out of the ice cream soda

Ice cream sodas came into existence around 1874. They were basically some ice cream mixed with carbonated water. However, some people protested that eating such a "sinfully" rich dessert should not take place on Sunday, and so the soda fountain folks left out the soda in the ice cream soda and called it a "Sunday".

The name got changed later to "sundae" to remove any connection to the Sabbath. As for President Taft, I will leave that one to the history books, and to his former White House chef.

Answer: The ice cream cone

Italo Marchiony was given a patent in 1903 and one year later at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis the ice cream cone found its place in America. Apparently a Syrian concessionaire, Ernest A. Hamwi, was selling zalabias, a waffle like treat. Next door to Hamwi an ice cream vendor was selling the popular treat, and because it was so popular he ran out of serving dishes. Hamwi saw the vendor's dilemma and quickly rolled one of his waffle wafers into a cone shape.

When it cooled, the vendor flourished ice cream into it, and the waffle cone came into being.

Answer: Sorbet

For those who are lactose intolerant, yet crave a sweet frozen treat, then sorbet is the choice on the menu. Sorbet is similar to sherbet, just minus the dairy. Gelato comes semi-frozen, and is made from cream, sweeteners, flavoring, and egg yolks. A quiescently frozen confection usually comes on a stick, being made without mixing the ingredients through an agitation process--one example would be a frozen fruit bar.

Answer: 10

Ice cream must have at least 10 percent milkfat, but most gourmet varieties will have as much as 20 percent. Eating non-fat or lowfat ice cream just isn't the same, is it? Changing the milkfat percentage changes the smoothness and palatability of the final product. If you are going to eat ice cream why bother trying to save on calories by eating anything less than the real thing? Just do some committed aerobics to burn those calories afterwards.

Answer: Between 6 and 10 degrees

Serving temperature, known as "tempering", is best done between 6 and 10 degrees. Too cold and the ice cream is definitely hard to scoop and dish. Too soft and it begins to melt too fast. But at the right temperature it is still frozen, yet soft enough to spoon out, and spoon in and enjoy.

Answer: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Who knows what Emerson really meant when he made his comment about serving ice cream to his guests. Maybe he thought ice cream was more palatable than his wit. Another worthwhile quote is attributed to an anonymous source: "An ice cream cone can solve any problem- even if it's only for a few minutes".