Who first “invented” ice cream and when?
“In China, a Chinese of course! The first concoction resembling ice cream was made in China during the Tang period (A.D. 618 to 907). Ice-cream makers for King Tang of Shang heated buffalo, cow, and goat milk together and then fermented the brew to form yogurt. They thickened the yogurt with flour and flavored it with camphor (an insect repellant, of all things). Refrigerating first, they served the confection to the king. Probably about then, a Chinese experimenter invented refrigeration. This unsung genius plummeted the temperature of cracked ice by mixing salt to reduce the freezing point. In this fashion, ice-cream makers could refrigerate their treat down to 7 degrees Fahrenheit (-14 degrees Celsius).
