More Info than you ever wanted to know about Ice Cream...

Ice Cream, popular frozen food made of milk, cream, sugar, and flavoring. Ice cream probably originated in China around 2000 bc. It was first made in Italy in the 17th century and appeared in the United States in the early 18th century. The U.S. ice-cream manufacturing industry began in 1851.

Early production methods consisted of placing the ingredients in a metal container, surrounded by a freezing mixture of ice and coarse salt, and mixing them until smooth
. In modern plants the basic ingredients, plus gelatin, used as a stabilizer to give the product a smooth consistency, are poured into a tank, where they are mixed and pasteurized. The mixture is then homogenized to break up particles of butterfat, cooled, piped to a freezing tank, and beaten until smooth; at this stage nuts or fruits are sometimes added. The ice cream emerges from the freezing tank partially frozen and is packed into containers that are stored in a refrigerated room until hard.

Several forms of ice cream are made. French ice cream is ice cream enriched with egg yolks; parfait and mousse are ice-cream preparations that have not been beaten during the freezing process; biscuit tortoni is a rich ice cream sprinkled with powdered almonds or macaroons; and spumoni is a mousselike ice cream to which fruits and nuts have been added. Soft ice cream, made of the same ingredients as ordinary ice cream, is sold as it comes from the freezer before hardening. Ice milk, made from milk with four percent butterfat, is also sold before hardening. Frozen custard—soft ice cream with eggs added—is cooked to a custard before freezing.