T
hesirencallofthelocalice
creamvanis a throwbackto
manypeople’schildhoods,
alongwiththesofticecream
swirledfromitsspigot– buthow
didthevanscometoroamour
roadsinthefirstplace?
Icecreamwasonceenjoyedonly
bytheelite,butinthe19thcentury
therewasgreateraccesstocheap
importediceandthepopularityof
icecreamboomed.Sellingthecool
treattothemasseswasa mobile
businessfromdayone,withcarts
pulledbyhandorhorses.
Bricksoficecream(calledhokey
pokey)werecutfroma slaband
wrappedinwaxedpaper,butthe
infamouspennylickwastheAN ICE CREAM TIMELINE
1894
Cookery entrepreneur and frozen
dessert expert Mrs Agnes Bertha
Marshall published Fancy Ices,
featuring an early recipe for ice
cream cones.1904
The bananasplit was created by US
pharmacyclerk David Evans Strickler.
The sundae featured three flavours of
ice cream and three flavours of syrup,
plus nuts, cream and cherries.1905
11-year-old Frank Epperson invented the
popsicle after leaving his soda outside
overnight so it froze with its stirrer in. First
called an epsicle, it was patented in 1924
and renamed popsicle (thanks to his kids).Hungry for more ice cream history?
Read Ice Creams, Sorbets and Gelati: The Definitive
Guide by Caroline and Robin Weir (Grub Street
£18.99). It’s the last word in frozen desserts, with
every recipe imaginable. Thank you to them for
sharing details from their ice cream timeline.bestseller – a small taste served in
a stubby, reusable and rarely
washed glass. By 1923, ice cream
sales were on wheels, with Wall’s
(which began as a family business
in London) fixing an insulated box
to a tricycle with the slogan ‘Stop
me and buy one’.MISTER SOFTEE VERSUS MR WHIPPY
The ice cream van as we know it
originated in America. Soft-serve
ice cream had been invented in the
1930s, but William and James
Conway, founders of the Mister
Softee brand, are credited with
motorising it. They debuted their
ice cream truck in Philadelphia on
St Patrick’s Day 1956, supposedly
serving green ice cream.
Mister Softee landed in the UK
soon after, partnering with British
food firm Lyons in 1959. Having
been inspired by a trip to the states,
Birmingham-based Dominic
Facchino launched his own
business around the same time:
Mr Whippy. Branded in pink and
cream to distinguish it from MisterSoftee’s blue and white, the
business was later sold to Wall’s.TIME FOR CHIMES
In the 1920s, US sweetmaker
Harry Burt, owner of the ice cream
franchise Good Humor, adorned
his trucks with bells, the first ones
plundered from his family’s bobsled.
The idea turned out to be a great
success: the bells triggered wistful
thoughts of America’s old ice cream
parlours – and of course the sound
alerted children that a truck was
nearby... Brilliant! What started as
a gimmick changed the way ice
cream sales would sound forever.
Mechanical music boxes were
installed under truck hoods and
traditional folk songs became the
tunes of choice. Mr Whippy
inventor Mr Facchino was the first
to use Greensleeves, unusual for
its sombre minor key and believed
to be the UK’s most widely used
chime. The familiar melodies,
combined with the evocative music-
box sound, still exert a magically
powerful pull on all ages.How the ice cream
van became a thing
PHOTOGRAPHY AND ILLUSTRATIONS: GETTY/I
STOCK IMAGES, REX/SHUTTERSTOCK.
RAVNEET PORTRAIT: SOPHIE DAVIDSON
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