While the origins of ice cream stretch as far back as the Tang dynasty from 618 to 907 A.D. — or even further to ancient Greek and Roman times — the chilly treats people of the past enjoyed weren’t exactly what we commonly know today. Ice cream wasn’t something most people could access until the 19th and 20th centuries, so you might assume further innovations on the way we eat ice cream didn’t come along until much later. As it turns out, it seems that as soon as ice cream became more available, its fans started thinking of even tastier ways to eat it. The crispy cone we know and love today was invented all the way back in 1896.
An Italian immigrant named Italo Marchioni had the brilliant idea for the cone in New York City. Seven years after his invention, in 1903, he was granted a patent for the sweet, crunchy concoction. He may have originally gotten the idea from edible ice cream cups, which appeared in the 1880s, or perhaps he was simply a waffle fan, or hated having to use dishes and spoons for ice cream. In 1904, another cone-cept appeared independently at the St. Louis World’s Fair. Ernest A. Hamwi was a Syrian vendor with a booth right next to an ice cream seller. When that seller ran out of dishes, Samwi came to the rescue with a freshly made, rolled, and cooled waffle, the result of which was called a cornucopia.
The cone’s role in ice cream history
Ice cream existed in America as early as the 1700s, but because it required a lot of fresh ingredients and refrigerators and freezers didn’t yet exist, it was a rare luxury typically for the upper classes. What changed all of that for the first time is perhaps one of the only inventions more important to the dessert’s timeline than the cone, which is the ice cream maker. It came along in 1843, during a time when ice was starting to be harvested and distributed to American businesses and homes.
The quick graduation of ice cream from a suddenly available treat to something people were inventing new holders for speaks volumes for its popularity. While Marchioni seems to have been the first cone creator, Hamwi had one advantage, which was where he started making it. The World’s Fair helped popularize the Belgian waffle in 1964, another waffle-related victory in the event’s history of helping food and beverage items take off as mainstream favorites. Hamwi went on to establish the Cornucopia Waffle Company and Missouri Cone Company, while Stephen Sullivan began producing cones in Missouri in 1906. Waffle cones have carried on to still be a favorite today, while “cake-style” cones developed from the option of baking cones from batter in molds. Nearly 120 years later, the success of Marchioni, Hamwi, and Sullivan is clear when you see the best ice cream cones on Instagram, featuring updates like flavors, dips, and toppings.
