冰激淋的歷史

Ice Cream's History　冰淇淋的歷史

The earliest reports of people enjoying flavored ice desserts come from the Romans and the Chinese. Marco Polo returned from his famous expedition with fruit-flavored ices, reporting that Asians had been making them for thousands of years. These delicacies became popular in France in the 1500s, but only among royalty. Over the next few centuries, the process of making them evolved from hauling mountain ice to salt/ice freezing methods. Cream was introduced as an ingredient, and by the 1700s, people were enjoying a dessert that was very similar to today’s ice cream.

根據(jù)史料記載，最早享用風味冰制甜點的是羅馬人和中國人。馬可·波羅完成他著名的游歷后，滿載果味冰品而歸，稱亞洲人做這些的歷史已有數(shù)千年。早在16世紀，這種美食就已經(jīng)風靡法國，不過只限于王室內(nèi)部。在接下來的幾個世紀里，人們發(fā)明了鹽水冰凍法，制作冰甜點不再需要從高山上鑿冰。之后，奶油也成為一種制作原料，到18世紀時，人們享用的冰制甜點已經(jīng)和今天的冰淇淋非常接近。

The hand-cranked ice cream freezer was first developed by Nancy Johnson in 1846. Ice was readily available from large warehouses in that era, so ice cream became a treat that could be enjoyed by almost anyone, not just the rich. Ice cream making was revolutionized again in 1851, when Jacob Fussel started the first wholesale ice cream manufacturing operation in Baltimore, Maryland. Fussel’s dairy business had excess cream and he couldn’t figure out what to do with it. He tried using it to make ice cream, and before long his ice cream business outsold the rest of the dairy.

1846年，南希·約翰遜發(fā)明了手搖冰淇淋冷凍機。那個時代的冰塊來自大型冷庫，隨取隨用，冰淇淋因此成為大眾美食，而不是富人獨享的奢侈品。1851年，雅各布·福賽爾在馬里蘭州巴爾的摩市首次批量生產(chǎn)冰淇淋，制作工藝再次革新。福賽爾的奶制品工廠生產(chǎn)的奶油過剩，他一時間不知怎么辦，便嘗試使用這些奶油制作冰淇淋，不久以后，他的冰淇淋銷量竟超過了其他奶制品。

The business slowly evolved for the next few decades. Manufacturing methods and ingredients improved, while refrigeration technology became cheaper and more efficient. By the 1920s, home refrigerators and freezers became more common, which gave the ice cream industry another boost. Sugar was rationed in the US during World War I, but the ice cream industry convinced the government that ice cream was an “essential food”. Ice cream factories were allotted sugar rations and production continued.

在接下來的幾十年里，冰淇淋產(chǎn)業(yè)日漸成熟。生產(chǎn)方式和制作原料不斷改進，制冷技術(shù)也變得更便宜更高效。到20世紀20年代，家用冰箱和冰柜更為普及，推動冰淇淋產(chǎn)業(yè)再次崛起。第一次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，糖在美國是定量配給的，冰淇淋行業(yè)協(xié)會說服政府冰淇淋是一種“必備食品”，冰淇淋工廠由此獲得食糖配額，生產(chǎn)才得以繼續(xù)。

Ice cream increased in popularity until the Depression years caused a drop in sales for virtually all non-essential goods. Sales increased in the years leading up to World War II before leveling off in the post-war years. The rise of the giant supermarket created demand for cheaper, mass-produced ice cream, but quality suffered. The 1960s saw a resurgence in “premium” ice cream, while the following decades saw the market fragment into low-fat varieties for the health-conscious, including frozen yogurt, fruit bars, ice milk, fat-free ice cream, and dozens of other varieties. However, ice cream still makes up about 60 percent of the market share among frozen desserts. While ice cream is enjoyed worldwide, it has become an American tradition.

經(jīng)濟大蕭條之前，冰淇淋日益普及，銷量一路上揚，但大蕭條的到來導致非必需品的銷量一落千丈，幾乎無一幸免。第二次世界大戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)前的那幾年，冰淇淋銷量開始有所好轉(zhuǎn)，戰(zhàn)后幾年則趨于平穩(wěn)。大型超市的出現(xiàn)，為價格更低廉、大批量生產(chǎn)的冰淇淋創(chuàng)造了市場需求，但冰淇淋的品質(zhì)卻受到了影響。20世紀60年代，“優(yōu)質(zhì)”冰淇淋東山再起，接下來的幾十年，冰淇淋市場細分出各種專為追求健康的人士打造的低脂系列產(chǎn)品，包括冰凍酸奶、水果條、牛奶凍、脫脂冰淇淋和其他數(shù)十個種類。但傳統(tǒng)冰淇淋仍然占去冰凍甜點60%的市場份額。全世界都在享用的冰淇淋，在美國已然成為一種傳統(tǒng)。

PS.
The ice cream mixes the sweetest and purest wish of a girl, and the bike carries the most conspicuous and fervent dream of a boy. Love will be aroused as soon as this most romantic factor adds to the simplest element.

冰淇淋融合了少女最甜蜜和最純凈的期盼，單車則承載了少年最張揚和最熱烈的夢想。最浪漫的因子加上最簡單的元素，怎能不碰撞出美妙的愛情?