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Totally Vantastic: six things about ice cream vans

The tinkling chimes of Greensleeves wafting over a warm breeze can mean only one thing: ice cream! Or, if your parents deceived you growing up, it meant that the ice cream van had run out of ice cream (all those missed opportunities…). Selling ice cream, it turns out, is just one of the varied responsibilities in a vendor’s job description.

In The Food Programme, Dan Saladino celebrates the history, science and magic of these unique vehicles, in honour of his father’s former day job. Here are six things you never knew you needed to know about ice cream vans.

Ice cream dates back to the 9th century

According to author and historian John Dickie, Sicilians have enjoyed ice cream as far back as the island’s Arab rule in the 9th century, when rulers added sugar to the ice they stored in cool houses. It was not until the 17th century that ice cream was consumed on our shores, and then it was only by the aristocracy, as ice houses were the preserve of the most affluent members of society.

Ice cream van chimes can only be sounded for 12 seconds at a time, no more than once every two minutes. the chimes cannot be sounded more than once every two minutes. They can't be sounded within 50 metres of schools, hospitals and places of worship, or when they are in sight of another vehicle that鈥檚 trading.

In the 19th century, a Swiss entrepreneur named Carlo Gatti brought these chilly treats to the streets of London – he was one of the first to do so. The population of London had grown enormously, and its hungry residents were reliant on street food vendors selling meat, vegetables, whelks, and to wash it all down: ginger beer. Why not something cold for after?

By 1850, there were some 20 ice cream sellers amongst their ranks. At the time, the experience of eating frozen food took some getting used to, and people weren’t convinced ice creams would catch on.

Victorian journalist Henry Mayhew recorded one vendor saying: “Lord, I’ve seen people splutter when they taste it [ice cream] for the first time, as I much did myself. They get among the teeth and they make you feel as if your tooth ached all over.”

Anyone who’s ever bitten overzealously into a lolly can surely relate!

Whipped ice creams date back to the 1940s

In the 1960s, classic vanilla scoops were replaced with light, aerated ice cream which was pumped out of a machine. Two brothers had developed this contraption in the 1940s, known as the auto-gelateria, which later became known by their family name: Carpigiani. A sugary, vanilla liquid would be transformed with the addition of air into a beautifully whipped, frozen treat.

McDonald’s, known not just for its burgers and fries, but also for its soft-serve McFlurry, is the UK’s only operator of the machines to work with fresh milk and cream – meaning McFlurries have pretty short shelf lives.

How the 99 got its name

With the rise of the Carpigiani machine came innovations such as the 99: a whipped ice cream topped with a jauntily-angled chocolate flake. No one knows the true origin of this iconic ice cream’s name, as contrary to popular belief it does not cost 99p. Even the Ice Cream Alliance of the United Kingdom is unable to explain its name.

One line of thought, says Scott Duncan, sales director of Carpigiani UK, is that the number 99 had connotations of elitism: the Italian King had 99 soldiers who were thought to be the very best. By extension, it is thought that the flake represented one of these.

Alternatively, says Ali Coote in her episode of Boring Talks about ice cream vans, 99 is top of the house in Bingo.

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There鈥檚 a time limit on ice cream van chimes

Did you know the most popular ice cream van chime is O Sole Mio?

According to former ice cream vendor Ali Coote, who drove an ice cream van in the late 90s, the chimes were made by a company called Harvin and came in a small metal box. They needed careful winding to avoid snapping the mechanism – keeping a spare winder was essential in case this happened. Nowadays, the chimes are powered by electricity and played through a speaker under the front wheel arch.

Until 2012, the chimes could only be sounded in four-second bursts, though now you can be treated to a full 12-seconds of the driver’s chosen tune.

There are other restrictions too. Ali says that the chimes cannot be sounded more than once every two minutes, within 50m of schools, hospitals and places of worship, or when they are in sight of another vehicle that’s trading.

Ice cream vendors had turf wars

Ali was told that one old-school ice cream vendor said they used to lean out of the window and try to punch other ice cream vans if they came across them.

Dan Saladino’s father remembers that there used to be a lot of competition and arguments between the vendors, fighting over the supposed theft of one another’s prime selling spots and times. Situations such as these sparked the imagination of graphic novelist Matthew Dooley, whose book Flake tells the story of rival ice cream vendors in the North West of England.

There are only around 5000 ice cream vans operating in the UK

On a drizzly day, you may have found yourself met by an unimpressed grunt when buying an ice cream off a bored-looking ice cream man or woman.

Ali explains that her least favourite situation was when well-intentioned customers would buy a ‘pity cone’ if business looked quiet or the vendor looked lonely. She says: “This is the worst thing that can happen. Once the whippy machine has been inactive for a while, the ice cream needs to refreeze, which can take 10 minutes. You’re standing there in the dry while someone waits in the rain for a cone they are very rapidly going off the idea of wanting.”

Still, there are now just 5000 ice cream vans operating in the UK, and that number is dwindling. These sole traders have been hit hard by the recent lockdown without self employment support, so perhaps now a sympathy ice cream purchase will be more welcome than ever. Just one Cornetto…

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