[Sca-cooks] Ices, Ice-cream, and Sherbet

[Dan Phelps]

Just back from my local dusty old used book shop.  Found "Milk and Milk
Products from Medieval to Modern Times; Proceedings of the 9th Inernational
Conference on Ethnological Food Research". One of the articles states that
Marco Polo brought back the recipe for a frozen dessert resembling today's
sherbet.  She further states that he brought back the secret of the use of
salt or saltpetre as a coolant.  She affirms that "...throughout the Middle
Ages, ices and icecreams remained delicacies that were consumed by the elite
classes in varoius countries."  She says that Catherine de Medici
"...brought with her to France,  ...the recipes for ices, ice-cream, and
sherbet."

As I think that it would make an interesting topic anyone have any in period
references regards ices, and in particular ice-cream and sherbet?

Daniel Raoul