In the eighth century, as Arab Muslims landed on the island of Sicily, they brought with them an ancestral version of ice cream. Known as sharbat, this ancient Persian treat consists of ice or snow drizzled with flavored syrups: rose, lemon, or sour cherries. Back in Persia, confectioners would rely on yakhchāls, ingenious insulated structures capable of preserving ice in the desert, but in Sicily, the upper slopes of Mount Etna provided ample snow. By the early 20th century, gelato-makers throughout the still newly unified Italy enhanced their wares with…
