Ice cream is centuries old and can be found around the world. The most ubiquitous flavors are impossible to trace exactly back to its origins, but we can get close. Chocolate ice cream dates back to the 1690s in Italy, even before vanilla, which didn't show up until the 1760s. Given all the specialty flavors found in ice cream shops today, from Flamin' Hot Cheetos to Thanksgiving dinner, you could safely argue there are thousands of ice cream flavors in the world.
You walk into an ice cream parlor and face a wall of colorful choices: Will it be a decadently rich chocolate chip kind of day? Or will it be something fruitier, like cherry or tutti frutti? At a fancier spot, you might even venture into pistachio or salted caramel territory. No matter what you choose, every scoop has a backstory - some of which might be older (or newer) than you'd expect.
Whether you like simple chocolate or vanilla, or prefer something decadent like jamocha almond fudge covered in strawberries and caramel sauce, it's hard to top ice cream as one of the greatest desserts ever made. But refreshing ice cream recipes have come a long way since the treat was first created, and thankfully, progress means we no longer use ambergris - which is essentially whale poop.
The primitive form of ice cream has deep roots in Persian deserts dating back to at least 400 B.C., with clever engineering skills employed to create early frozen desserts.