The Art of Ice Cream

I scream, you scream – we look at the wild history of ice cream – and taste some, too.

For most of human history, frozen meant frightening. The challenge up north was to stay warm. Then came ice cream.

It was first the food of kings and queens. Who else could afford the extravagance of ice in summer? Eighteenth century etchings show it being scooped by angels. Shaped into swans. Delivered to the gods.

Now, it’s on every corner, in every supermarket freezer. Some great. Some not so great. And some downright artisanal. Exotic. Goat cheese and cherry, anyone? 
-Tom Ashbrook
Guests:

Jeri Quinzio, author of “Of Sugar and Snow: A History of Ice Cream Making,” which is just out in paperback. You can read an excerpt.

Robin Davis, food editor at the Columbus Dispatch since 2002 and host of The Dispatch Kitchen on WBNS-TV.  Her new book is "Graeter's Ice Cream: An Irresistible History." Read her column, "The Dispatch Kitchen."

More:

This hour, we taste-test three varieties of butter pecan ice cream:

1. Edy's Butter Pecan, $5.49 for 1.5 quarts.

2. Haagen-Dazs Butter Pecan, $4.29 for a pint.

3. Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, Bourbon Buttered Pecan, $11 for a pint.