Tastes that can make you melt down

Honey, wine and mountain snow. Those were the ingredients of one of the first ice creams that the imperator in Rome was eating. Although, according to the European association of ice cream “Euroglaces” the beginning of ice cream history is the end of 17th century, when they started to use milk products for production.

According to the culinary heritage researcher professor Rimvydas Laužikas the ice cream reached The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and became popular in 17th century: “One of the most famous ice cream lover was Aleksandra Oginskienė, the wife of Mykolas Kazimieras Oginskis. What is known that in July of 1783 in her manor that is located in Siedlce, now Poland, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stanislovas Augustas Poniatovskis was treated with ice cream.

Very first ice cream receipts that was found in our country is in 1783 culinary book “Kucharz doskonały…” written by Wojciech Wincenty Wielądko. He wrote about fruity ice cream (cherries, currants, strawberries, raspberries and sea buckthorn) and mentioned ice cream cake. In 18th century ice cream became inseparable part of dessert assortment.

The first ice creams that Lithuanians enjoyed apart from cherries, currants, strawberries, raspberries and sea buckthorn were the flavors of orange blossom, violet, rose, almond, walnut, hazelnut, pistachio, saffron, coffee, caramel, clove.

Nowadays Lithuanians on average eat 7 liters of ice cream in a year, which is about one and a half ice cream in a week. Lithuanians are not the biggest sweet tooth in the world. Lithuanians are 4 time below New Zelanders. However, in the race of who has more ice cream flavors we could compete not only with them. In the map of cold desserts you can find flavors from smoked mackerel to cucumber, peony petals, pollen, wood sorrel, beer malt.

THE MAP OF ICE CREAM

Source: national tourism development agency “Lithuania Travel”