Celebrated on the third Sunday of July, World Ice Cream Day originated in America in 1984 as Ice Cream Month, and it’s no secret that we’re big fans of the dairy treat in this country as well!
Currys have a range of ice-cream makers and machines on sale in store and online now, so you can pick one up ahead of World Ice Cream Day this Sunday, 16th July.
DID YOU KNOW?
• The Persian Empire was known to put snow in a bowl, pour concentrated grape juice over it, and eat it as a treat thousands of years ago. They would climb to mountain tops and harvest the snow from their peaks in the summertime. They would then keep the snow in underground chambers, known as a yachal, to keep it cold from the earth.
• Around 697 AD, the Chinese in the Tang Dynasty took to freezing dairy with salt and ice. Although the invention of ice cream dates thousands of years back, many culinary businesses give credit to Antonio Latini from Naples, Italy, who created a milk-based sorbet in the 17th century.
• Ice cream arrived in Ireland in 1926, when brothers James, George and William Hughes, from Hazelbrook farmhouse, Rathfarnham, Dublin, froze their surplus milk and cream — with delicious results.
• Paper, glass and metal were once commonly used for holding ice cream. Sellers would scoop the ice cream into a glass and buyers would pay a penny to lick it clean, before giving it back. Sometimes, customers broke glasses, or walked off with them.
• At the 1904 World Fair, at St Louis, it was so hot that everyone was buying ice cream — for many still a novelty — and ignoring the hot waffles. When ice-cream seller, Arnold Fornachou, ran out of paper cups, the waffle seller next to him, Ernest Hamwi, helped by rolling up one of his waffles. He put ice cream in it. Thus, the ice-cream cone was born.
Why not try making your own ice-cream/sorbet/frozen yoghurt at home using one of the recipes below from food writer, Caitríona Redmond using the NINJA Creami NC300UK Ice Cream & Frozen Dessert Maker.
The NINJA Creami NC300UK Ice Cream & Frozen Dessert Maker – Black & Silver is available now from Currys for €219.99.
RECIPES:
Raspberry Sorbet
Makes: 1 Pot of sorbet
Ingredients:
• 300g fresh raspberries
• 75g caster sugar
• Water
Method:
• Place the raspberries and caster sugar into a large bowl. Mash using a fork until the sugar is dissolved.
• Spoon the raspberry mixture into a Ninja Creami pot. Pour water on top of the mixture until it reaches the limit line on the pot.
• Place the grey lid onto the Ninja Creami pot and freeze for 24 hours.
• To finish the sorbet, remove the frozen pot from the freezer and remove the lid. Place the Ninja Creami cutting lid on top. Lock into place on the machine. Turn on the machine and press the “Sorbet” option.
• Blending will take about 2 minutes. Once finished, remove the cutting lid. If the sorbet has a powdery texture add a splash of water into the centre of the pot. Replace the cutting lid and mix again using the sorbet option until you get a soft serve texture.
• If you do not use the whole pot of sorbet immediately, replace the grey lid and return the pot to the freezer. You can mix the contents again using the Ninja Creami the next time you want to enjoy fresh sorbet.
Fro-Yo / Frozen Protein Yoghurt
Makes: 1 Pot of frozen yoghurt
Ingredients:
• 450g of Greek Style Vanilla yoghurt (or any other flavour you enjoy)
• 2 tablespoons of runny honey
Method:
• Spoon half the yoghurt directly into the Ninja Creami pot. Stir the runny honey into the yoghurt in the pot. Spoon the remaining yoghurt into the pot.
• Place the grey lid onto the Ninja Creami pot and freeze for 24 hours.
• To finish, remove the frozen pot from the freezer and remove the lid. Place the Ninja Creami cutting lid on top. Lock into place on the machine. Turn on the machine and select the “Ice Cream” option.
• Blending will take about 2 minutes. Once finished, remove the cutting lid. If the frozen yoghurt has a powdery texture add a splash of water into the centre of the pot. Replace the cutting lid and mix again using the ice cream option until you get a soft serve texture.
• If you would like to add chocolate chips, biscuit pieces, or even chopped nuts to your frozen yoghurt add to the top of the Ninja Creami pot at this stage. Replace the cutting lid and use the “Mix-In” option to combine with your frozen yoghurt.
• If you do not use the whole pot of frozen yoghurt immediately, replace the grey lid and return the pot to the freezer. You can mix the contents again using the Ninja Creami the next time you want to enjoy fresh frozen yoghurt.
Currys Ireland is the country’s leading specialist electrical retailer operating online at currys.ie and across 16 stores nationwide.
Slán go fóill.