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Ice cream

B1 · 359 words · ≈ 2 min

Ice cream is a frozen dessert made from cream and ice, with added flavors and sweeteners. This mixture is quickly frozen while it is stirred continuously in a mixer, so that large ice crystals do not form. Some ice cream is made with carrageenan, a gum found in seaweed so that it is not sticky and easily eatable. Nowadays, ice cream comes with different flavors, shapes, colors and textures. It has a melting point of 0 °C (32 °F).
Ice cream was first eaten as early as 500 BC in Persia. In the Achaemenid Empire, ice cream was made of ice combined with flavorings. Just like modern ice cream, this type of ice cream is eaten during summer. In 400 BC, the Persians invented a special type of ice cream reserved to the royalty during summers. This type of ice cream is made of rose water and vermicelli. The ice in this particular ice cream was mixed with saffron, fruits, and various other flavors.
In 200 BC, the Chinese used a frozen mixture of milk and rice to make ice cream.
A Roman cookbook from the 1st century includes recipes for sweet desserts that are sprinkled with snow.
In the 17th century sorbets and ice creams were made by adding salt to ice, making it freeze.
There are lots of stories about the history of ice cream, but not much real evidence.
Ice cream became very popular in the Mediterranean in the 1800s. Mediterranean people during the 1800s could easily afford ice cream. People started to make lots of recipes for ice cream. Before refrigeration they had to collect ice and store it in ice houses.
From the 1950s onward, ice cream became a lot more popular. Refrigeration was easily affordable because many people owned fridges that could store ice cream for a very long time without melting.
There are lots of ways to make ice cream. Most people don't make ice cream, because it is easier to buy.
Shops make ice cream by mixing cream and other things like milk, sugar, and eggs. Then they add flavoring (something that adds flavor to a food). Then they freeze it.

Words to know

sweetener: things added to food to make it sweet — Süßstoff — edulcorante, endulzante — édulcorant — dolcificante — słodzik — adoçante, edulcorante — подсластитель — tatlandırıcı — підсолоджувач
stir B1: mixed by moving a spoon or tool around — rühren, umrühren — revolver, mesclar — remuer, touiller — mescolare — mieszać, bełtać, zbełtać — mexer, agitar — мешать, размешивать, размешать — karıştırmak — мішати, розмішувати, розмішати
continuously B1: without stopping — ständig, ununterbrochen, andauernd — de continuo, continuamente, continuadamente — continuellement — continuamente, costantemente — ciągle, nieprzerwanie — continuamente — постоянно, непрерывно — durmadan
crystal: small hard pieces with a regular shape — Kristall — cristal — de cristal, en cristal — cristallo — kryształ — cristal — хрусталь, кристально — kristal — кришталь
seaweed B1: plants that grow in the sea — Seetang, Algen — algas — algues marines — alghe — wodorost, glon — alga — водоросль, водоросли, морская трава — deniz yosunu — водорості, морські водорості
reserved: kept for particular people only — reservieren, buchen, reserviert — reservar, reservado — réserver, réservé — reticente — zarezerwować, rezerwować, powściągliwy — reservar, reservado — бронировать, забронировать, замкнутый — mesafeli — забронювати, резервувати
royalty B2: kings, queens and their families — realeza — règne — królewskość — realeza — величие, царственность, член королевской семьи — велич, величність
sprinkle: with small pieces dropped over the top — sprühen, besprühen — rociar, salpicar, espolvorear — asperger — spargere, spruzzare — prysnąć — espirrar — брызгать, побрызгать, опрыскивать — serpmek — бризкати
evidence A2: facts that show something is true — Beweis, Beweismittel — evidencia — preuve — prova, evidenza — dowody, dowód — evidência, prova — доказательство, свидетельство, улика — kanıt, delil, ispat — доказ, свідоцтво, свідчення
refrigeration: keeping things cold so they stay fresh — Kühlung — refrigeración — réfrigération — refrigerazione — refrigeração — охлаждение, замораживание

Text: Simple English Wikipedia, “Ice cream”, Wikipedia contributors, https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_cream · CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) · shortened · Picture: Peachyeung316, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mint_chocolate_chip_ice_cream_from_flower_years_bar.jpg · Translations: English Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) · Worksheet: https://krumeto.com/read/ice-cream

KrumetoIce creamName ____________________

A. Choose the right answer

Why is the mixture stirred while it is being frozen? A2
1. a) So that it melts at 0 °C
2. b) So that the flavours mix with the sweeteners
3. c) So that large ice crystals do not form
4. d) So that it does not become sticky
What is carrageenan used for? A2
1. a) It gives ice cream its colour.
2. b) It helps ice freeze faster, like salt.
3. c) It stops some ice cream from being sticky.
4. d) It makes ice cream sweeter.
Where was ice cream first eaten, according to the text? A2
1. a) In Rome, in the 1st century
2. b) In Persia, around 500 BC
3. c) In China, around 200 BC
4. d) Around the Mediterranean, in the 1800s
What was special about the Persian ice cream of 400 BC? A2
1. a) It was a frozen mixture of milk and rice.
2. b) It was sweet and sprinkled with fresh snow.
3. c) It was frozen by adding salt to the ice.
4. d) Only royalty ate it, and it contained rose water.
Put these in the order of the text's history: (a) salt is added to ice to make sorbets, (b) the Chinese freeze milk and rice, (c) a Roman cookbook has recipes with snow. A2
1. a) b – a – c
2. b) c – b – a
3. c) b – c – a
4. d) a – b – c
What does the writer suggest about the early history of ice cream? B1
1. a) Roman cookbooks prove every detail of it.
2. b) Ice cream was really invented in the 1800s.
3. c) There are many stories, but not much real evidence.
4. d) Only the Chinese story is true.
Why did ice cream become much more popular from the 1950s? B1
1. a) Shops started adding eggs to it.
2. b) It became popular with royalty.
3. c) Many people owned fridges to store it.
4. d) People started collecting ice in ice houses.

B. Answer in full sentences

Describe your favourite dessert and how it is made, as if you were writing for a recipe website.
Fridges changed the way people eat. Which invention has changed eating most in your lifetime? Discuss.

KrumetoIce creamAnswer key

Answer key

c) So that large ice crystals do not form — Paragraph 1 says it is stirred continuously so that large ice crystals do not form.
c) It stops some ice cream from being sticky. — Paragraph 1 says carrageenan, a gum from seaweed, is used so that ice cream is not sticky.
b) In Persia, around 500 BC — Paragraph 2 says ice cream was first eaten as early as 500 BC in Persia.
d) Only royalty ate it, and it contained rose water. — Paragraph 2 describes it; the other options come from paragraphs 3, 4 and 5.
c) b – c – a — Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 give 200 BC, the 1st century and the 17th century.
c) There are many stories, but not much real evidence. — Paragraph 6 says there are lots of stories but not much real evidence.
c) Many people owned fridges to store it. — Paragraph 8 says refrigeration became affordable because many people owned fridges.