Ice cream cones: How did they come into being?
“You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream!” It is perhaps one of the most popular rhymes among ice cream lovers. Do you know that the origin of ice cream can be traced back to the early 10th century AD China under the Tang dynasty? Back then, it was simply described as ‘a frozen milk-like confection’. It took centuries for the term ice cream to be coined. Who coined it and why is a story for another day. Today, we will tell you about when and how ice creams started being served in cones.
The inception of cones
Food historians say that cones in the shape of rolled or baked wafers have existed in Greece and Rome since ancient times. However, when they started being used for desserts, especially ice cream, remains unknown. Now, fast forward to 19th century when French cooking books started depicting pictures of people having ice cream from cones. As a result, experts believe it was around the same time that edible cones were being made there. In fact, a contemporary French chef named Julien Archambault mentions in one of her books how she served ice cream to her Parisian customers by simply rolling a cone from tiny waffles.
Around the same time, Italian cook Charle E. Francatelli also reported using cones to serve a flowing dessert, similar to, but not exactly ice cream. Likewise, British cook Agnes B. Marshall also mentions her special recipe ‘Cornet with Cream’ in her book on cookery. She describes how her cornets were made with almonds and baked in oven, although not pressed between irons. So, food historians often deem her as the first unofficial inventor of ice cream cone.
St. Louis World’s Fair and ice cream cones
Another century down the line, in 1904, at the famous St. Louis World’s Fair, something extraordinary happened. A local ice cream vendor ran out of paper cups in which he was serving different flavours of ice cream and thought he had to shut down for the day. Fortunately, a Syrian waffle maker named Ernest A. Hamwi was doing great business nearby and he decided to help out his competitor. He was selling a crispy waffle-like pastry (called “zalabis”) and offered a temporary solution to the ice cream vendor’s problem. Hamwi kept supplying him with curled wafers (as if waffles in the form of a cone) to hold and serve the ice cream in. What’s interesting is none of the sellers realised that they had accidentally invented ice cream cone. So, neither of ever got a patent for their creation. But a few years later, Italian immigrant Italo Marchiony chanced upon the invention and used it to his advantage. Not only did he secure a patent to his name but also started ice cream cone business at the heart of New York City.
The story of Doumar
There’s another interesting story surrounding the invention of ice cream. However, it’s not as well accepted as the St. Louis World’s Fair version. Turns out, Abe Doumar of the famous mafia family of Virginia wanted to move away from his family’s criminal legacy and do something honest for himself. So, at the age of 16, he left home and started selling random items, including paper weights and irons. However, one day, he met a Belgian supplier and learnt about waffle from him. In fact, he got some of it back home. Since the waffle was too big for him to eat at one go, he decided to roll it and put ice cream on top. All he wanted was a midnight snack and to check how they tasted together. Guess what? The result was lip-smacking good. Realising he had invented something unique by chance, he decided to make more such cones and sold them like hot cakes in St. Louis Exposition. Soon, he also developed a four-iron baking machine and was commercially mass-producing ice cream cones. The rest, as they say, is history.