This is a subject that one could write a book about but I will limit it to history, geography, fashion and food!
I prefer cream on my desert. Talking to my friend Dave, he said that he always has clotted cream on his ice-cream. I thought that he was joking, but no! He says that the cold base solidifies the cream.
There was a café in Babbacombe that served it. When my family lived in the Vaucluse area of France we sometimes visited an open-air restaurant on a hill side where only ice-cream was on their menu, but over one hundred varieties. The most popular was lavender flavour. George Washington loved oyster flavour! That wouldn’t be to my taste.
Wealthy Italians in Florence were eating ice-cream as long ago as 1500. When Catherine de Medici married King Henry of France in 1533 she insisted that it was eaten at their wedding reception. In 1671 Charles II served it at his Garter Banquet, but only for the royal guests on the top table! I don’t know whether it is true, but it’s said that Margaret Thatcher helped to formulate the “Classic 99” for Mr Whippy.
Now we come to fashion! This spring/summer the shows were featuring ice-cream colours. The Chanel cat walks had vanilla, Versace showed plenty of violet cream and Céline favoured strawberry. There is even a museum of ice-cream in America!
Finally, food! Do you make “Baked Alaska”? It’s quick and easy.
Enjoy an ice-cream in June,
Esmé
I prefer cream on my desert. Talking to my friend Dave, he said that he always has clotted cream on his ice-cream. I thought that he was joking, but no! He says that the cold base solidifies the cream.
There was a café in Babbacombe that served it. When my family lived in the Vaucluse area of France we sometimes visited an open-air restaurant on a hill side where only ice-cream was on their menu, but over one hundred varieties. The most popular was lavender flavour. George Washington loved oyster flavour! That wouldn’t be to my taste.
Wealthy Italians in Florence were eating ice-cream as long ago as 1500. When Catherine de Medici married King Henry of France in 1533 she insisted that it was eaten at their wedding reception. In 1671 Charles II served it at his Garter Banquet, but only for the royal guests on the top table! I don’t know whether it is true, but it’s said that Margaret Thatcher helped to formulate the “Classic 99” for Mr Whippy.
Now we come to fashion! This spring/summer the shows were featuring ice-cream colours. The Chanel cat walks had vanilla, Versace showed plenty of violet cream and Céline favoured strawberry. There is even a museum of ice-cream in America!
Finally, food! Do you make “Baked Alaska”? It’s quick and easy.
- Cover a sponge base with your favourite soft fruit (or failing that a thick coating of jam)
- Sit a block or two of ice-cream on top.
- Meanwhile your oven is getting very hot, cover your pudding with a thick meringue. It’s important to leave no gaps.
- Pop the dish into the oven and watch carefully. Only remove it when it is golden in colour.
Enjoy an ice-cream in June,
Esmé
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