Inventing Women
Nancy M. Johnson patented an ice cream freezer, 1843.
In these days of deep summer, I am very grateful for cold food and frozen treats. Ice cream is way high up on my list of favorites. I really like to make my own, turning the hand-crank and scooping the frozen treat out of the metal churn. I have two ice cream freezers, but I haven’t made any home-made ice cream in years. The grocery store freezer section is too close, and the prepared ice-cream/sherbet/gelato is waaaay too convenient.
I am fascinated by the story of Nancy M. Johnson, who invented the home version of an ice cream maker.
Nancy Maria Donaldson Johnson was born in Philadelphia in 1794. In 1843, she obtained a patent for a small hand-cranked ice cream freezer. U.S. Patent and Trademark #3254. She sold the patent to William Young, who marketed the machine as the “Johnson Patent Ice-Cream Freezer.”
To make ice cream, a pewter cylinder was filled with ice cream ingredients. A paddle or mixer was inserted into the cylinder before the lid was placed on top. A crank was attached to the paddle, which was attached to the lid. Cylinder, lid, and paddle were then inserted into a wooden pail filled with ice and salt. The crank was turned by hand until the mixture in the cylinder thickened and froze.
I’m glad that there was a Nancy M. Johnson. I’m glad that she was smart enough to figure out a way to bring ice cream into summer households. I’m glad that there is ice cream.
