THANK A BLACK PERSON: Augustus Jackson, the Father of Modern Ice Cream Making
Black History Month (or, if you prefer, African American Heritage Month) opens us to a 28-day reminder on how vital Black people are in the world. (Imagine that?!) While divisiveness abounds on the issue of whether or not to teach critical race theory in K-12 American schools — one thing is for certain, children love ice cream!
And wouldn’t it be cool for kids to learn about African American confectioner Augustus Jackson who has been dubbed in numerous circles as the “Father of Ice Cream.” Well, he didn’t actually invent it — ice cream making goes back as the second century B.C. with Alexander the Great of Macedonia who conquered Persia (now Iran) who was known to enjoy snow and ice flavored with honey and nectar. In China, a kind of ice cream was invented about 200 BC when a mixture of milk and rice was frozen by packing it into snow.
But in 1837, Jackson, a Philadelphia businessman pioneered modern manufacturing methods of making ice cream as we know it today. Stories have been circulating online about Jackson for a number of years, and social media platforms continue to post his image and notoriety.
Jackson worked as a White House chef from 1817 until 1837 for Presidents James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson, making daily comfort foods for them and their families while also preparing formal meals at state dinners for visiting dignitaries, according to BlackPast.com.
Jackson left Washington D.C. to open his own catering business in Philly where he began experimenting with ice cream flavor recipes, according to Mary Bellis who wrote about inventors for ThoughtCo.
He opted for eggless custards (most European ice creams at the time were egg-based) and added salt in the mixture and to the ice to control the freezing of the custard at lower temperatures to make it freeze more evenly — and taste better. (Remember your childhood ice cream churners with rock salt and ice? That method!) His freezing technique also helped keep the cream colder for longer periods which helped with packaging and shipping the product.
“Jackson created several popular ice cream flavors which he distributed and packaged in tin cans to the ice cream parlors of Philadelphia,” Bellis wrote. “At that time, many African Americans owned ice cream parlors or were ice cream makers in the Philadelphia area. Jackson was extremely successful and his ice cream flavors were well loved.”
Sadly none of Jackson’s recipes still exist, according to BlackPast.com, and there is no evidence that Jackson ever patented his ice cream process. (Or, if he had a patent, it could very well have been stolen — which might explain why there’s no mention of Jackson in the International Dairy Foods Association’s online history of ice cream). Jackson was said to have shared his techniques with other Black ice cream parlor owners in the area who found similar success with ice cream making “well into the 19th century until racial prejudice drove most of them out of business,” according to BlackPast.com.
Jackson’s daughter attempted to keep the family business going after her father died in 1852 at the age of 43. The family had difficulty keeping up with demand, and eventually other Philadelphia ice cream makers swallowed up his share of the market in the city.
Nowadays, specialty ice cream stores are surging in popularity through the United States (and globally). The average American consumes approximately 23 pounds of ice cream and related frozen desserts per year — a beloved tasty treat for kids of all ages.
So, the next time you open that carton of ice cream in your freezer, or purchase a couple of scoops from your favorite ice creamery, don’t forget that Augustus Jackson had a hand in that delicious dish. Thanks, Mr. Jackson!
Related stories…
“I’m Dreaming of An Ice Creamy Christmas,” by Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn for Shondaland.com
“Black people were denied vanilla ice cream in the Jim Crow south — except on Independence Day” by Michael W. Twitty for The Guardian
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