Ice Cream: A Global History

Description

It's called gelato in Italy and glida in Israel, and it can be found on the dessert menu in most restaurants throughout the world, as well as in the majority of home freezers. Ice cream, once considered a treat for the elite, has evolved into one of the most successful food products ever developed. Ice Cream: A Global History takes the reader on a vibrant trip through ice cream history, stretching from ancient China to modern-day Tokyo. As befits a food so strongly identified with celebration, the story of ice cream is a lively one - food and travel journalist Laura B. Weiss examines how this delicious indulgence became a global sensation.

Laura B. Weiss is a journalist based in New York who specializes in food, travel and lifestyle. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, the Zagat restaurant guide and the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, New York University.

'These are food memoirs, salacious and exotic, colorful, powdered, sweet, greasy and globe-trotting ... sharp and speedy little reads, spotted with off-kilter illustrations' - Chicago Tribune 'In Ice Cream: A Global History, food writer Laura B. Weiss tells the fascinating story of a popular, mass-produced frozen treat that began life thousands of years ago as the dessert of kings.' - Wall Street Journal 'Anyone who has ever enjoyed ice cream, or even just sitting in a soda fountain, will find something to love in this book.' - Globe and Mail, Canada 'Laura Weiss paints a compelling portrait of everyone's favorite dessert. She traces the transition of ice cream from a luxury reserved for the wealthy to an everyday treat accessible to the masses, while never allowing history to obscure a sense of pure pleasure.' - Palm Beach Illustrated 'In her fascinating new book, Laura B. Weiss takes us on a journey from ice cream's beginnings in ancient China to its present day evolution into an artisanal offering. Nestled throughout the book are fun factoids ... With 60 color and black and white photos and 26 vintage and modern recipes from around the world, Ice Cream delves into the mysterious allure of this frozen concoction and its connection to powerful childhood memories' - Dessert Professional Magazine 'look[s] back at ice cream's enduring appeal to people around the globe - from George Washington's ice cream cravings to today's upwardly mobile Chinese - and celebrates the enormous popularity of a beloved treat that never goes out of style. It's a MUST read this summer ... with ice-cream in-hand of course!' - Food Network Magazine 'an informative and light-hearted book about ice cream of all varieties. The book is slender to the hand, but packed with history, facts, and stories.' - In Mama's Kitchen 'Ice Cream: A Global History is the place to turn if you want to know the backstory of everyone's favorite frozen treat!' - David Lebovitz, author of The Perfect Scoop