There are many myths and stories as to the invention of ice cream: was it Marco Polo who brought it back from China (along with pasta)? Probably not, considering he most likely never visited China.

The story of its popularity is however connected with the invention of technology to make it on an industrial scale, and to keep it cold once made. Before refrigeration techniques, food was frozen with the aid of ice, mixed with salt, which was either stored in ice houses or shipped from cold countries. But then at the end of the 19th century, both making and freezing it became easier, and together with the invention of the ice cream cone, made the product boom.

Today, the United States is the absolute leader in terms of volume consumed, but the highest per head consumers are in New Zealand. Flavors you'd never have thought of and yet they're commercially available:

• Sorbets - Smoked Salmon, Tomato, Cucumber
• Ice Creams - Garlic, Avocado, Sweet corn.

The ice cream cone is the most environmentally friendly form of packaging. A Syrian from Damascus, Ernest E Hamwi is credited with its invention. Apparently, during the 1904 St Louis World's Fair, his waffle booth was next to an ice cream vendor who ran short of dishes. Hamwi rolled a waffle to contain ice cream and the cone was born.