Australia and New Zealand An ice cream van at Batemans Bay, New South Wales, Australia Per capita, Australians and New Zealanders are among the leading ice cream consumers in the world, eating 18 litres and 20 litres each per year respectively, behind the United States of America where people eat 23 litres each per year.[14]
[edit] Finland The first ice cream manufacturer in Finland were the Italian Magi family, who opened the Helsingin jäätelötehdas in 1922 and Suomen Eskimo Oy. Other manufacturers soon spawned, like Pietarsaaren jäätelötehdas (1928-2002).
Finland's first ice cream bar opened at the Lasipalatsi in 1936, and at the same time another manufacturer, Maanviljelijäin Maitokeskus started their production.
Today, the two largest ice cream manufacturers are Ingman and Nestlé (who bought Valiojäätelö). Finland is also the leading consumer of ice cream in Europe, with 13.7 liters per person in 2003.[15]
[edit] France In 1651 Italian Francesco dei Coltelli opened an ice cream café in Paris and the product became so popular that during the next 50 years another 250 icecafés opened in Paris. Some "French Style" ice creams are made with butter in place of cream.[citation needed]
[edit] Germany Italian ice-cream parlours (Eisdielen) have been popular in Germany since the 1920s, when many Italians immigrated and set up business. As in Italy itself, ice cream is considered a traditional dessert and the ice-cream at an Eisdiele is still mostly hand-made.
[edit] Greece Ice cream in its modern form is a relatively new invention.Ice treats have been enjoyed since ancient times. During the 5th century BC, ancient Greeks ate snow mixed with honey and fruit in the markets of Athens. The father of modern medicine, Hippocrates, encouraged his ancient Greek patients to eat ice "as it livens the lifejuices and increases the well-being."[16] In the 4th century BC, it was well known that a favorite treat of Alexander the Great was snow ice mixed with honey and nectar.[17] In modern times Greek ice cream recipes have some unique flavors such as Pagoto Kaimaki, (Greek: Παγωτό Καϊμάκι), made from mastic-resin which gives it an almost chewy texture, and salepi, used as a thickening agent to increase resistance to melting; both give the ice cream a unique taste; Olive Oil Ice Cream with figs; Pagoto Kataifi Chocolate, (Greek: Παγωτό Καταΐφι-κακάο), made from the shredded filo dough pastry that resembles angel's hair pasta or vermicelli; and Mavrodaphne Ice Cream, (Greek: Μαυροδάφνη Παγωτό), made from a Greek dessert wine. Fruity Greek Sweets of the Spoon are usually served as toppings with Greek-inspired ice cream flavors.
[edit] Italy Italian ice cream in Rome Ice cream is a traditional dessert in Italy. Much is still hand-made by individual gelateria (look for the sign 'produzione propria', meaning 'our own make' in the ice cream shops). Italian ice cream or gelato is made from whole milk, eggs, sugar, and natural flavorings. Gelato typically contains 7-8% fat, less than ice cream's minimum of 10%.
Before the cone became popular for serving ice cream, in English speaking countries, Italian street vendors would serve the ice cream in a small glass dish referred to as a "penny lick" or wrapped in waxed paper and known as a hokey-pokey (possibly a corruption of the Italian "ecco un poco" - "here is a little").[18]
Some of the most known ice cream machine makers are Italian companies Carpigiani, Crm-Telme, Corema-Telme, Technogel, Cattabriga, Matrix, Promag.
[edit] Japan Mochi ice cream sold in Japan Japanese green tea ice cream with anko sauce Ice cream is also a popular dessert in Japan , with almost two in five adults eating some at least once a week, according to a recent survey.[19] Since 1999, the Japanese Ice Cream Association has been publishing the Ice Cream White Paper once a year, and the four most popular ice cream flavors in Japan has not changed (including their orders) since 1999 according to the Paper.[20] The top four flavors are vanilla, chocolate, matcha (powdered green tea) and strawberry. Other notable popular flavors are milk, caramel and azuki (Red Bean) also according the Paper.[20] Azuki is particularly favored by people in their 50s and older.[20] While matcha is a truly Japanese flavor favored by Japanese and well-known among non-Japanese outside of Japan, plum and ginger, tastes often presented as Japanese flavors outside of Japan, did not make the cut in the top 17 favorite flavor list in 2006.[20] In Japan, a soft serve ice cream is called softcream which is also very popular. As a seasonal treat during the cherry blossom season, ice cream is available that is actually flavored with cherry blossoms.
[edit] United Kingdom Ice cream van in the UK The first British recipe for ice cream was published in Mrs. Mary Eales's Receipts in 1718. The recipe did not include a process for making the ice smooth and it must have been coarse with ice crystals.
Ice cream remained an expensive and rare treat in the UK, until large quantities of ice began to be imported from Norway and the US in the mid Victorian era. A Swiss-Italian businessman, Carlo Gatti, opened the first ice cream stall outside Charing Cross station in 1851, selling scoops of ice cream in shells for one penny. [6] The penny lick soon became popular, remaining on sale until banned in 1926,[citation needed] by which time it had been replaced by the ice cream cone.
In the United Kingdom today, much of the lower-priced ice cream sold, including that from some ice cream vans, has little milk or milk solids content, being made with vegetable oil, usually hydrogenated palm kernel oil. Ice cream sold as dairy ice cream must contain milk fat, and many companies make sure that dairy is prominently displayed on their packaging or businesses.
The Ice Cream Alliance Ltd, a trade association for the UK ice-cream industry, says that: "It is necessary for a manufacturer to be aware of the compositional requirements of the country in which he intends to sell his ice cream. In the UK this is a minimum of 5% fat and a minimum of 2.5% milk protein. There is also an Italian ice cream dessert known as Tartufo. (Schedule 8, the Food Labelling Regulations 1996).[21]
In the United Kingdom, per capita consumption of ice cream is only 6 litres per year.[citation needed]