SOME COLD COMFORT

NCIENT civilisations enjoyed nothing more than a cold concoction in the hot days of summer. Ancient Greeks ate snow mixed with honey. Fruit was chilled with ice by Roman emperors.

Two thousand years ago, China and Persia used ice and snow to freeze confections.

In the 16th century, the Mughal emperors in India used relays of horsemen to ride hundreds of miles to bring ice from the Hindu Kush to Delhi to make sorbets.

And in the 17th century, the first recipe for ice cream was created in France.

This new delectation became popular in Mediterranean countries the following century and, 100 years later, England caught up and the ice-cream craze took hold here, too.

I’ve always been partial to quality ice cream. I think locally produced Dixon’s is one of the finest I have tasted anywhere, while the tub with which I stock my freezer from the supermarket, has to be Mackie’s of Scotland. As a side option, we also have a box of Mars Ice Cream bars for when the grandkids call.

But did you know ice cream could date back to biblical times?

I didn’t until a reader stopped me outside Home Bargains in town this week and said: “Who were the earliest ice cream makers in the Bible?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Who were the earliest ice cream makers in the Bible?” “Walls, of Jericho,” he said. And walked away. I love readers with a sense of humour.