Ice cream is an ancient dessert, dating back to the second century B.C.. Since that time, countries around the world have developed their own versions of ice cream, from Indian kulfi to Ecuadorian Helado de paila. 

Ice cream is one of the most popular desserts in the United States. 6.4 billion pounds of ice cream were produced in the US in 2019 alone., The International Dairy Foods Association reports that, on average, each American consumes over 22 pounds of ice cream and other frozen desserts annually. But ice cream is not an American invention. The frozen dessert dates back to the second century B.C., when records show that leaders like Alexander the Great enjoyed ice and snow flavored with honey or nectar as a delicacy. Ice cream as we know it today likely derives from a recipe collected from the Far East by Italian explorer Marco Polo in the 16th century. 

The ancient confection made from snow or ice flavored with honey, nectar, or fruit is present in historical records from around the world. While in England and America this treat evolved into the milk and cream based ice cream which we know today, other countries developed different versions of frozen desserts. Here are 7 frozen treats from around the globe, all impacted by the cultures that created them. 

1. Dondurma, Turkey

Dondurma—the Turkish word for “freezing,” and sometimes referred to as Turkish ice cream—is often eaten with a knife and fork. Dondurma differs from American ice cream in several ways, the most obvious being the texture. While American ice cream is soft and creamy, dondurma is stretchy, chewy and does not melt easily, hence why it is most often served on a plate with a knife and fork. Dondurma is made from a milk and sugar base and added Arab gum, or mastic, a resin that gives the ice cream its chewiness. In addition to mastic, dondurma is thickened with salep, a flour made from the root of a purple orchid which grows in the mountains. The creation of dondurma is credited to the town of Kahramanmaraş, located at the foot of the Ahir Mountain in southern Turkey. The town has been producing dondurma for over 150 years, but the origins of the treat date back  even further. Over 300 years ago, the people of the area mixed clean snow from the mountain with molasses and fruit extracts, creating an early form of ice cream. Today, dondurma is frequently served sprinkled with pistachios and can be found at restaurants as well as street vendors, where it is served in cones.

2. Mochi Ice Cream, Japan

Traditionally a dessert sold and eaten during the Japanese New Year, mochi has recently soared in popularity, especially in the United States. The term mochi refers to a unique Japanese delicacy dating back to 794 A.D., which is made from sticky rice dough. In Japan, mochi is most often enjoyed in small, round balls filled with red bean paste—a treat known as daifuku. In ancient times, mochi was made to be presented as an offering to the gods at temples and was also served to the Emperor and other nobility. Although mochi itself has been around for centuries, mochi ice cream was not developed until the 1980s. And, despite its Japanese roots, mochi ice cream is actually an American invention. It was created by Frances Hashimoto and her husband, Joel Friedman, who ran a Japanese-American bakery in Los Angeles during the 1980s. During a trip to Japan, the couple was inspired by the traditional daifuku to create their own mochi treat using ice cream. Today, mochi ice cream is sold at almost all major grocery stores and is available in a wide variety of flavors, like green tea, chocolate, mango and red bean.

3. Kulfi, India

While often categorized as an Indian ice cream dish, kulfi is denser and creamier than ice cream, more closely resembling frozen custard. Kulfi is made from boiling milk until it solidifies,  which is called khoa. Sugar is then added to the milk and the mixture is flavored as desired, typically using natural flavoring ingredients. Popular kulfi flavors include saffron, pistachio, mango, avocado and cardamom. After the kulfi mixture is flavored, it is poured into molds and frozen until the treat has set. Kulfi is thought to have originated in northern India during the 16th century Mughal Empire. Traditional desserts in that area already included condensed milk, and the Mughals added pistachios and saffron for  flavoring and then froze the mixture in metal cones using a combination of ice and salt, giving rise to the kulfi dessert served today. Kulfi is popular not only in India but in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan and the Middle East as well. The dish can also be found in many Indian restaurants around the world. 

4. Gelato, Italy

Gelato is an Italian delicacy which differs from traditional American ice cream in its silky, creamy texture, as well as being denser. Gelato and American ice cream both contain milk and cream, but authentic gelato uses more milk than cream and does not usually contain egg yolks, which are a common ingredient in many ice creams. Gelato typically contains less butterfat as well, which makes the flavors more intense. It is also served at a temperature 10-15 degrees warmer than ice cream, so it melts more easily in one’s mouth. Modern gelato dates back to the Renaissance when Cosimo Rugierri, an alchemist, created a dessert from fruit, sugar and ice that delighted the powerful Medici family in Florence. Other accounts of modern gelato credit architect Bernardo Buontalenti, who is said to have prepared an ice cream dish from milk, egg yolks, wine, fruit and honey and served it to King Charles V of Spain. Whatever its origins, gelato quickly spread out of Italy, becoming a delicacy in other countries as well. Until 1686, however, gelato was mainly served in private residences of the  wealthy, as ice and salt were expensive. Then, Italian Francesco Procopio Cutò opened a cafe in Paris where he sold gelato to the public. Since then, gelato has become a wildly popular treat that can be found on nearly every street in Italy and in restaurants and shops around the world. 

5. Helado de paila, Ecuador

Helado de paila, literally “ice cream from a pot,” is a sorbet-like treat from Ibarra, Ecuador. The story goes that, 122 years ago in Ibarra, a teenage girl named Rosalía Suárez had nothing to give her friend as a 15th birthday gift. So, she decided to make her a dessert. Rosalía and a friend put natural fruit juice in a container and placed it on a wooden tray, where the container was surrounded by ice and straw to preserve it. They began to spin the container and beat the fruit juice, which turned into a form of ice cream. Rosalía perfected her recipe by adding sugar to the fruit juice and salt to the ice and began to sell her ice creams. Today, helados de paila are prepared in a way very similar to the technique that Rosalía Suárez first used. A blend of fruit and sugar is poured into a wooden bowl sitting in a larger bowl, or paila, which is already prepared with a layer of straw and a layer of ice and salt. The fruit mixture is stirred and eventually cools into the creamy helado de paila. Popular flavors include strawberry, blackberry, coconut, tree tomato and passionfruit. 

6. Spaghettieis, Germany

This popular German sundae is made from vanilla gelato, strawberry sauce and white chocolate shavings. The dish sounds innocuous enough, but what makes this treat unique is its presentation: the sundae is made to look just like a bowl of spaghetti. Spaghettieis was invented in 1969 by Dario Fontanella, whose father had moved from Northern Italy to Mannheim, Germany, in the 1930s. In an attempt to honor his Italian roots at the German ice cream parlor his family owned, Fontanella decided to create a bowl of spaghetti entirely from ice cream. Spaghettieis is made by putting vanilla gelato through a chilled spaetzle press (a machine to make German egg noodles) to achieve the spaghetti-noodle shape. The gelato is then topped with strawberry sauce to mimic tomato sauce, and shaved white chocolate curls to mimic parmesan. Apparently, when spaghettieis first began being served at ice cream parlors, it made children cry in disappointment that they were being served pasta rather than a dessert. Despite its tearful start, the dessert is widely popular today. Fontanella never patented his creation, so a variation of spaghettieis is served at nearly every ice cream parlor in Germany.  

7. Akutaq, Alaska 

Named after the Inupiaq word for “to stir,” Akutaq is an Indigenous Alaskan treat made by mixing fat, oil, berries and sometimes water or fresh snow together into a sweet dessert with a whipped texture. While berry-based akutaq is more similar to an American sorbet, there are also meat-based akutaqs in which the fat and oil are mixed with ground caribou or dried fish to create a more salty, gamey and savory dish. Traditionally in indigenous communities, the dish was made by women after the first catch of a polar bear or seal, and shared with members of the community. Akutaq varies by region depending on what types of flora and fauna are available to add. Indigenous people near the Alaskan coast used saltwater fish, while those inland used freshwater fish, and those in the north used bigger game like caribou, bear and musk-ox. Indigenous Alaskans have been making akutaq for thousands of years. Up until the 20th century, indigenous Alaskans held akutaq cooking contests during annual trade fairs, where members of various communities would compete to create new flavors. While akutaq can still be found today, in modern recipes the traditional caribou fat and seal oil are often replaced with Crisco and olive oil.

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Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.