History and Evolution of Ice Cream

Attempted Assassination of Fidel Castro

In 1963, two CIA agents attempted to poison Fidel Castro by slipping a poison pill into his chocolate milkshake at the Havana Libre Hotel.
The plan failed as the pill froze to the freezer coils and broke.

Cold desserts and iced drinks date back to the first century.
Enjoyed predominantly by royal elites in ancient Rome, Mughal India, and Tang dynasty China.
Methods for freezing included:
- Harvesting mountain glacial ice and snow.
- Ancient Persian technique of sky cooling using shallow insulated pools.

Originated from "sharbat," an icy drink from Persia, popular in the Middle Ages.
European travelers adapted sharbat into different flavors, including chocolate and eggplant.
Antonio Latini (1692) recorded a recipe for a milk-based version, considered by some as the first ice cream.

Ice cream spread with European settlers to North America, enjoyed by the upper classes.
Ingredients like sugar, salt, and cream were expensive.
George Washington reportedly spent $6,600 (today's dollars) on ice cream in one summer.

Nancy Johnson (1843): Patented an ice cream-making machine with a crank and beater.
Frederic Tudor (1830s): Enhanced ice shipping and storage, making ice cream accessible.
Political turmoil in the 1880s brought Italian immigrants to the US, popularizing street-vended ice cream.
Soda Fountains: Emerged from the combination of soda and ice cream, especially after alcohol prohibition in 1920.
Breweries like Anheuser-Busch and Yuengling transitioned to ice cream production.

Post-World War II improvements in refrigeration technology allowed home and truck storage of ice cream.