Thai Ice-Cream

Ice cream

Ice cream was introduced to Thailand during the reign of King Rama V when the first ice cream machine was imported to Thailand. Ice cream in the second half of the 19th century was made of coconut water blended with ice. At first, ice could not be produced in Thailand. That led to importing ice from Singapore. Ice cream was then an upper-class treat, but over time ice cream became more widely available and the product was improved by replacing coconut water with coconut milk.

There were two types of ice cream in Thailand. First, ice cream in the palace was made of coconut juice with roasted tamarind on top. Second, ice cream for the public was coconut ice cream with the scent of the Nommaeo flower with a slight sweet taste. The ice cream “tube” was born during the reign of Rama VII. Its ingredients were contained inside a zinc tube which was shaken until it solidified, then skewered stick to serve as a handle. It was sold by mobile vendors using dry ice and salt to keep the ice cream cold. Eventually, ice cream was manufactured and sold in small cups.

According to the Bangkok Post, aitim tat (Thai: ไอติมตัด; “cut ice cream”), was very popular 30 years ago (1986). It came in rectangular bars of various flavors, sliced into pieces by the vendor, who then inserted two wooden sticks into the pieces to use as holders. Aitim tat was made from milk, coconut milk, flour, sugar, and artificial flavour. The price was one or two baht, depending on the size.

The Pop Company in the 1970s set up the first ice-cream manufacturing plant in Thailand. The company used a duck logo, resulting it the nickname aitim tra pet (Thai: ไอติมตราเป็ด; “duck brand ice cream”).It was sold in front of Chaloemchai Theater. Its most popular offering was called “banana split”, with three flavors of ice cream, chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.