An ice cream-like food was first eaten in China in 618-97AD. King Tang of Shang, had 94 ice men who helped to make a dish of buffalo milk, flour and camphor.

Another kind of ice cream was invented in China about 200 BC when a milk and rice mixture was frozen by packing it into snow. Roman emperors are supposed to have sent slaves to mountain tops to bring back fresh snow which was then flavoured and served as an early form of ice cream.

The King of England, Charles I, is supposed to have offered his chef £500 a year to keep his ice cream recipe a secret from the rest of England. The explorer, Marco Polo (1254-1324), is believed to have seen ice creams being made during his trip to China and introduced them to Italy.