Weiss connects this much-loved food with its place in history, making this a book sure to be enjoyed by all who are beckoned by the siren song of the ice cream man.

Today American brands can be found around the world, but vibrant ice cream cultures like Italy's continue to thrive, and more recent ones, like Japan's, flourish through unique variations. Weiss tells of the iced sherbets made in the Middle East and brought to Europe, the frozen confections made at the French court, and nineteenth- and twentieth-century sodas and sundaes with names such as 'Over the Top' and 'Purple Cow'. Indeed, from the sundae to the cone, American entrepreneurs popularized the treat, developed the modern ice cream industry and gave the world the soda fountain - that nostalgic icon of American innocence and small town values. Though Europeans came up with the first modern recipes, Americans have long claimed ice cream as their national dessert. Weiss, author of Ice Cream: A Global History. It's a tale populated with Chinese emperors, English kings, former slaves, women inventors, shrewd entrepreneurs, Italian immigrant hokey-pokey ice cream vendors and a gourmand American First Lady. Italy and France was where ice cream was first truly developed they made it delicious, says food writer Laura B.

Weiss takes us on a vibrant trip through the history of ice cream from ancient China to modern-day Tokyo in order to tell the lively story of how this delicious indulgence became a global sensation. I'm also a food and lifestyle write for NPR, Food Network, Interior Design, and other outlets. Though ice cream was once considered a food for the elite, it has evolved into one of the most popular mass-market products ever developed. 1952 I'm the author of Ice Cream: A Global History (Reaktion Books). Be it soft-serve, gelato, Indian kulfi or Israeli glida, some form of ice cream treat can found throughout the world in restaurants and home freezers.

Ice Cream by Laura B. Weiss