No one is sure just when ice cream was first made. Water ices were popular in ancient times, especially in the East. The Roman emperor Nero (37-68 a.d.) had slaves bring down mountain snow, which was then flavored with honey and fruit pulp. Marco Polo (1254-1324) brought recipes for water ices from the Far East to Italy in 1295, and Italian water-ice recipes were brought to France by the chefs of Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) in 1533.

At some point, cream was added to the ice and "cream ices" were born. A Sicilian, Francesco Procopio, opened a Parisian cafe in 1670 that served ice cream and sherbet. Ice cream was probably brought to America by early English colonists. George Washington (1732-1799) and Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) were both fond of the dish, and Dolley Madison (1768-1849) popularized it at White House dinners.

Ice cream was a rare treat until...