The history of ice cream

Despite facing freezing temperatures much of the year, Wisconsinites consume 21 million gallons of ice cream annually: by some measures, the most in America. Where did the tasty treat originate?

Around 200 B.C., the Chinese created an early version by mixing milk, rice and snow. About 1,500 years later, Marco Polo brought ice cream to Italy, where artisans made it exclusively for the wealthy.

In 19th-century America, a soda shop owner in Two Rivers experimented by pouring soda syrup over ice cream. The popular “Ice Cream Sunday” was renamed to “sundae” so he could serve it daily.

– Chris Butsch, The 100 Companies