Amy gives the history on the ice cream cone

It's a good guess most of us will, or already have, enjoyed this treat since the warm weather has rolled into the Garden State.

Yes, there is a story behind almost everything.  The ice cream cone is no exception.

Ice cream historians pretty much agree that this thin waffle pastry has been around for more than 100 years.

The earliest documentation of the cone goes back to 1896.  That year an Italian emigrant, Italo Marchiony, invented the ice cream cone in New York City.  Marchiony received a patent for it in 1903.

A product very similar to Marchiony's was introduced at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

The story goes, Earnest Hamwi was selling a crisp waffle-like pastry at the Fair next to an ice cream stand.  The ice cream vendor ran out of dishes.  Yes, you guessed it.  The two guys teamed up and walla!.  Ice cream cones debuted in St. Louis.

There is another guy who gets an honorable mention for the cone.

Abe Doumar is credited with adapting the waffle iron into an ice cream cone oven.  This happened in in Norfolk, Virginia after the Worlds' Fair.

It really wasn't until the 1920's until the ice cream cone really took off.  That's when they figured out a way to make them in mass production.  In 1924 245 million ice cream cones were made.  I guess someone stood and counted every one.

Today there are basically two types of ice cream cones.  There are sugar cones and waffle cones.

The sugar cone has no inner grid and is available in small or large sizes.  Most of the time they have flat bottoms and are used for soft serve ice cream.

And, waffle cones are thinner than the sugar variety.  These are the cones that are rolled into their shape just after they're baked.

A bit of history about something most of us love.

Next Sunday I'll post some fun stuff about the creamy cold confection that fills the cone.