05
Feb
Black history month myth of the day. Ice Cream.
CofCC.org News Team
Now that it has been admitted in many mainstream news sources that a George Washington Carver did not invent peanut butter, that myth seems to have been replaced by a new myth. The new myth states that a black man invented ice cream in 1832 while working at a Philadelphia candy store.
The myth claims that Augustus Jackson was “head chef” of the White House in the early 19th century and “invented ice cream.” Jackson was in fact employed as a White House chef, though never listed as “head chef.”
The practice of eating chilled desserts containing flavored ice dates back thousands of years to Mesopotamia royalty. Special underground storage was developed to keep ice frozen during the summer. The Chinese made similar desserts in the summertime as well.
The first modern recipe for an ice cream like dessert appears in French cookbook in 1674. The first known recipe for modern ice cream actually using cream and ice appears in Mary Eales cookbook in England in 1718. A reference book on the English in 1744 states “it is a chilled dessert made from cream, milk, and fruit.” Matching the modern definition of ice cream.
Augustus Jackson was a chef who made ice cream. At best he experimented with his own flavors. He in no way shape or form invented ice cream. The date of 1832 is 88 years after ice cream had already been added to the dictionary!
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