Speech - The Incredibly Interesting Ideas of Ice-cream

Ice- cream. Who doesn't like it? Whether you like to call it gelato, sundae or hokey pokey, whether your favourite flavour is chocolate, strawberry or mango every one of them is just as delish as the next.

What necessarily is ice-cream? Ice-cream is a frozen dessert made from dairy products such as milk and cream. Usually this is combined with other fruits or flavours to make it taste absolutely scrumptious. For all the times that we eat ice-cream we have got to thank that someone who invented it who is … Now hold on a second. Who really invented the original ice-cream? Well here comes the interesting but very confusing part. No one really knows.

The Greeks and Macedonians say they invented ice-cream because of Alexander the Great. It is said that he brought the technique of using cold pits from his home in Macedonia to Patna in India. Cold pits are holes dug in the ground and filled with snow. They are then covered with great big oak planks. Wine was stored in them for a later refreshment of iced wine.

The Indians say they knew about cold pits long before Alexander invaded, thank you very much. And surprise, surprise. They said they invented it. An ancient Indian dish called kulfi is made from milk that is boiled until it thickens then left to freeze in cold pits.

Then the Chinese once again, say they invented ice-cream. Why? Because they had cold pits going back to around 1100 BC to make the Chinese Emperors dishes of sweetened milk thickened with rice and frozen in porcelain bowls.

Soon enough the Italians come and say they invented the real ice-cream made with cream. Italian cooks who travelled with royals were said to bring ice-cream recipes with them into the French Royal Family. But the French say no! no! no! They say that they already knew about ice-cream long before the Italians arrived. And anyway, they started making real ice-cream with the use of eggs in theirs first. Also the first ice-cream shop ever opened was in France by a gentleman. As the argument goes on the Italians say that even if the first ice-cream shop was opened in France, the guy who opened it was Italian.

There are many more stories but let’s not go there. But then here come the English. They say that they may not have invented ice-cream but they did invent the name . Well there you go. Now, enough about history. Let’s move on to interesting facts. The countries which like ice-cream the most are the United States, New Zealand, Denmark and Australia. The most popular topping is chocolate syrup and the most favourite flavour is classic vanilla. The biggest ice-cream cake was made in China in 2006 and weighed 8 tons. America consumes the most ice-cream in the world with Australians coming second.

So as I come to an end I would like you to think about a few things. Who should we think invented ice-cream, should we eat less ice-cream and what of all flavours is your favourite.