Many of us will buy various kinds of ice cream and store in the refrigerator these days, which makes us happy once seeing the collection of it as if it visually cools down already. When it comes to “ice cream”, the Chinese word “bīngqílín” must not sound unfamiliar. As a foodie, I think you will not be satisfied with the only expression of it. Today let’s talk about some related words of ice cream in Mandarin.
Lěngyǐn, a collective term for cold drinks It is not hard to understand the meaning of the word literally. In China, cold drink originated in Shang Dynasty about 3000 years ago. Only the rich stored the ice in the cellar in winter and meet the needs of summer in the coming year, especially for freezing rice wine. Now the word lěngyǐn(冷饮)’s meaning has been broadened including cold drink like soda, juice and ice cream, etc.
Are bīngqílín, bīngjīlíng and xuěgāo one thing? Generally speaking, these three terms all refer to ice cream made from dairy product. Now you may ask if they mean the same things why there are three words of it. Well, from the perspective of production technology, xuěgāo(雪糕) is usually made into block or with stick; bīngqílín(冰淇淋） is soft ice cream such as ice cream cone(甜筒, tiántǒng) and sundae(圣代, shèngdài) while bīngjīlíng(冰激凌) is harder, of which the water content is higher than the former like ice cream ball(冰激凌球, bīngjīlíngqiú). Now people use them for the same thing when talking about ice cream.
Bīnggùn & bàngbīngGùn(棍) and bàng(棒) mean stick. Therefore, bīnggùn(冰棍) and bàngbīng(棒冰) are the same thing, ice lolly or popsicle.
Bàobīng & bīngshā These two are both processed ice in bowl or cup. Bàobīng(刨冰) is shaved ice made from a whole block with ingredient like condensed milk or syrup on the top with various fruits. Bīngshā(冰沙)is smoothie blended from juice, milk or other ingredients, of which the texture of ice is smoother.
Ice cream in Shanghainese memory
Bàngbīng are the most common lěngyǐn. Red bean, mung bean, orange, lots of flavors as much as you want! But there is one kind that many people in Shanghai love so far, saltwater popsicle(盐水棒冰 yánshuǐ bàngbīng)! Although it is only a mixture of water, sugar and salt without fancy packaging, it is far more effective than ice cream in dog days, and it is not sticky or greasy.
Compared to popsicles, the cost of a brick of ice cream is high in childhood. The flavor of Bright Dairy’s cream ice brick(光明冰砖 guāngmíng bīngzhuān) is vanilla cream, dense in texture with abundant milk. Hundreds of ways of eating it by adding coke, sprite, coffee, strawberry and nuts…that every Shanghainese will not forget the package of the blue box!
Gallon is ice cream sold in bulk, usually in 1 kilogram. You can see it as a large version of ice brick but with more flavors other than only vanilla. My parents used to buy bag of cones with gallon so I can DIY my own ice cone at home. Gallon has a fashionable Shanghainese name, gálun(加仑).
Zǐxuěgāo(紫雪糕, chocolate-coated ice cream) must be Shanghainese Magnum. You have to be really careful when eat it as the ice cream melts fast and chocolate may fall down on your clothes. In old time, milky ice cream wrapped with thin chocolate was luxury. Though we can find it still in market, it’s not the flavor any more.
Cocoa, strawberry and vanilla, three flavors to meet the needs of different tastes. What flavor do you like to dig first when you eat the three colors cup(三色杯, sānsèbēi)? I like to wait for it to melt a bit then mix them all to eat like smoothie.
Try some local ice cream when you are in Shanghai. Let us know your favourtie in the comment below!
