La ice cream, a gently regressive sweetness that is a must during the summer period… An ephemeral product par excellence, synonymous with hedonistic and most often shared moments, it evokes a form of nostalgia linked to childhood. The French consume about 6 liters per year, and 50% of sales are made over ten weeks, in summer, according to the National Confederation of Glaciers of France (CNGF). There are sorbets (without fat) or ice creams (which contain milk or eggs) that can be enjoyed in pots, tubs, cones or sticks. Also according to the CNGF, an organization that has supported and accompanied ice cream parlors for eighty years, the popular flavors would be vanilla, chocolate and coffee for ice cream and strawberry, lemon and pear for sorbets.
Many stories and legends surround its origins. Most researchers agree, however, that ice cream was invented in China. Its appearance, it ranges between – 3000 and – 200 BC, depending on the sources.
Some documents explain that the Chinese used mare’s or donkey’s milk which was fermented and heated with flour and camphor to be then iced and consumed. In other texts, goat’s milk was flavored with honey and plants and the cooling technique consisted of a mixture of water and saltpeter.
The Persians would have created the faludeh, Where faloodeh, an iced drink made from rose water and vermicelli to which saffron and fruit were added, and then reserved for the richest. In the same region, one would have found fruit drinks cooled with snow, called sharbet. This word, of Persian origin, subsequently gave rise to the French word “sorbet”.
“The Ice Queen”
A lot of imprecise, even contradictory information circulates concerning the evolution of ice creams and sorbets over the following centuries. For example, and contrary to popular belief, neither Marco Polo nor Catherine de Medici were behind the appearance of ice cream in Italy and then in France. But the ice creams that look like the ones we eat today were born in Italy. These are the famous jelly.
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In France, in 1686, the Sicilian Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli bought the Café Procope in Paris, in which he offered more than 80 flavors of ice cream, thus becoming the first ice cream café in the capital. The success is total: members of the aristocracy and the richest go to his house to enjoy an ice cream. At the time, it was complicated to obtain and then store ice. The product is therefore expensive and reserved for an elite.
During the 19the century, the techniques of making and preserving ice cream improved considerably. Indeed, in the 1840s, the American Nancy Johnson invented the first hand-cranked ice cream maker, improved in 1885 by the Englishwoman Agnes Bertha Marshall, nicknamed “the ice queen”. In 1860, the Frenchman Charles Tellier created the first refrigeration machine, thus allowing the manufacture of artificial cold. The appearance and development of electricity also allowed the conservation of products. The number of glaciers then multiplied, and the success of ice cream grew.
France, the leading European producer
According to the Xerfi Classic study on the manufacture and market of ice creams and sorbets published in April 2022, France is today the leading producer of ice creams and sorbets in Europe and the 2e world exporter, behind Germany. In France, two players stand out: industrial manufacturers and ice cream makers. The former largely dominate with 1.2 billion euros in turnover in 2021, thanks mainly to sales to large and medium-sized stores. Ice cream artisans, the vast majority of whom own their stores, sell their products directly to consumers and, again according to Xerfi’s estimates, would have a turnover of around 400 million euros in 2021.
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However, the French increasingly favor the products of artisan ice cream makers and this profession is in full development. Moreover, the number of artisanal establishments and small industrialists increased by 31% between 2012 and 2020, for various reasons: first of all, consumers are more and more demanding concerning the composition of the products they ‘they eat. Thanks to apps like Yuka, for example, they can instantly learn about the stabilizers and additives in their ice cream. This is why they often turn to better quality products, combining pleasure and health, and mainly artisanal.
Artichoke ice cream and vinary sorbet, shallot and pepper
There is also a strong enthusiasm for eco-responsible products. A large number of artisan ice cream makers use short circuits and seasonal products, eliminating colorings, ultra-processed sugar and other preservatives. Julia Canu (one of the rare women with the title of artisan ice cream maker in France, even if the trend is changing) and Tiago Barbosa, co-founders of the eco-responsible ice cream parlor Único in Lyon, work directly with their producers and their sorbets are only made with from fresh produce. This is why many restaurateurs call on them to make quality ice cream that accompanies their menus. They have already created one with artichoke, for example, and have developed a vinegar, shallot and crushed pepper sorbet to accompany oysters during the holidays.
Small ice cream manufacturers are also surfing on these new trends, as well as on new consumption patterns. Cécilia Thomas and Laura Faeh, creators of the Lapp brand, innovated by creating the poptails, frozen cocktails, alcoholic or not, made with natural and vegan products. They explain that their choice was made in line with their consumption patterns and their ecological convictions, shared by more and more consumers.
Alongside these independent craftsmen, rare are the renowned pastry chefs who do not produce their own ice cream, with marketing positioning – price, packaging – often very luxurious.
A booming business
Finally, being an ice cream maker also includes an artistic part, like pastry. The palette of invention is vast: play on textures, colors, possibility of creating savory flavors or daring new combinations… Among the various gastronomic competitions, that of best worker in France (MOF) in the ice cream parlor category the French craftsmanship of the profession at its peak. The mastery of the gesture, the tastes and the textures of those who obtain, after years of preparation and a large dose of abnegation, the blue white red collar arouses the admiration of many apprentice craftsmen and consumers in search of quality. .
If the profession of ice cream maker remains to this day less popular than that of pastry cook, it is however in full evolution, and knows an increasingly great enthusiasm.
* Nathalie Louisgrand, teacher-researcher, Grenoble School of Management (GEM)