Culture
Frozen delights! Ever wondered how ice-cream was delivered before Malta's colourful ice-cream trucks?
The ġelat tal-ħmar was a real deal!

Caroline Curmi

In a time when household technologies were still considered a luxury and way before before bougie ice-cream parlours became the ultimate summer outing, ice-cream was distributed through ice-cream trucks, which would tour the Maltese streets blaring a memorable tune through the vehicle's speakers to alert those in the vicinity of its arrival.

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Mario's ice-cream truck was one of many such vans that delighted children over the years with a deliciously creamy post-lunch treat. But with ice-cream - initially a rich man's dessert - spreading across Europe from the 16th century, have you ever wondered how ice-cream was distributed in Malta before ice-cream trucks became all the rage?

Gelat tal-hmar

Maria Graziella Cassar via Nostalgia Malta / Facebook

A recently unearthed picture points to what was back in the day referred to as ġelat tal-ħmar - nope, not donkey-flavoured ice-cream, but a donkey-pulled ice-cream cart. While the date of the photograph has not been made known, it is assumed from people's clothing and nearby vehicles that this is post-World War II era Malta.

Do you remember the ġelat tal-ħmar?

21st July 2024


Caroline Curmi
Written by
Caroline Curmi
When she’s not having a quarter-life crisis, Caroline is either drawing in a café, frittering her salary on sushi or swearing at traffic in full-on Gozitan. There is also the occasional daytime drink somewhere in the equation. Or two. A creative must be allowed at least one vice.

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