The icy treat can be traced back to 1200BC and Mesopotamia, with early versions invented all over the world – Alexander the Great was a fan – but what we know as ice cream today emerged in the 1500s to 1600s, according to the head of Italy’s Gelato Museum. Photo: Gelato Museum
Was ice cream invented by China or Italy? Its history can be traced back to 1200BC
- The first ice cream was more of a slush than a paste-like flavoured cream, says the head of Italy’s Gelato Museum in Bologna
- The turning point came during the Renaissance, when such frozen drinks became the modern, paste-like gelato we are familiar with today
The icy treat can be traced back to 1200BC and Mesopotamia, with early versions invented all over the world – Alexander the Great was a fan – but what we know as ice cream today emerged in the 1500s to 1600s, according to the head of Italy’s Gelato Museum. Photo: Gelato Museum