“Eating winter with a spoon”

Monday 7th September  7.00 pm 2020 

A talk by Ruth Hazeldine on the history of ice cream

“There is more to the story of ice cream than just the pleasure of eating it. It has a long social history, as well as a culinary one. The first written record of ice cream being eaten in England is in 1671 at a feast held for Charles II. The first printed recipe was published in 1718 by Mary Eales, Court Confectioner to Queen Anne. Where did this delicacy originate? Well, you’re always safe if you say “China”, and in this case it’s true: records from the T’ang Dynasty in about AD 618 refer to iced milk mixed with flour and camphor being served at court. Sounds horrible, doesn’t it? 

Soon afterwards the method made its way to Italy, where it was much improved by the addition of fruits and sugar and by 1672,  90 different flavours were being offered at the Café Procope in Paris.  I will show you a picture of me standing outside the shop, with an ice-creamy smile on my face!. In fact, it felt like Eating Winter with a Spoon!”

Ruth Hazeldine

This is an online Zoom event. (Click here for advice on how to participate.)

Pre-booking on Eventbrite is essential – click here. The Zoom meeting link will be sent by email on or before the day of the event.