From Vending Cart to Ice-cream Parlor

The History of Italian Ice-Cream Makers in (West) Germany

Abstract

Italian ice-cream makers began their specific contribution to food culture in the mid-nineteenth century and went on to conquer Europe. This article traces the history of the Italian ice-cream business with particular reference to Germany, concentrating on the transformation of the business form, i. e., the development from street-cart vendors to bricks-and-mortar ice-cream shops, as well as on how Italian ice cream and its vending places were received by consumers. The specific migration patterns of Italian ice-cream makers, especially temporary migration, and their tight-knit migrant networks, some of which still exist today albeit to a lesser degree, will be analysed from the viewpoint of migration history. Italian ice-cream is particularly interesting from the perspective of consumption history, its low price allowing us to focus not only on elite consumers but on lower-income groups too, as well as on new consumer groups such as teenagers. The example of Italian ice cream also reveals processes of exoticism in marketing and reception, which would serve as models for other foods imported to Germany, not only Italian ones.