National Sundae Day is observed each year on November 11. Ice cream lovers across the country will celebrate all day, enjoying one (or more) of the most famous ice cream dessert, the ice cream sundae.
- The oldest known record of an ice cream sundae is an advertisement in the Ithica Daily Journal dated October 5, 1892, with the conventional day of the week spelling – Sunday.
- It has been hotly debated where the sundae originated. There has been a friendly rivalry between Ithica, New York, and Two Rivers, Wisconsin over which city is the true birthplace of the sundae.
- The Two Rivers’ claim is that in 1881, Druggist Edward Berners served the sweet concoction when customer George Hallauer ordered an ice cream soda. Because it was the Sabbath, ice cream sodas were prohibited at that time. As a compromise, Berners served the ice cream in a dish without soda and topped it with chocolate syrup. This story is disputed by some because Berners would have only been 18 at the time the story takes place.
- In Ithica on a Sunday after church in 1892, Chester Platt, proprietor of Platt & Colt Pharmacy, and the Reverend John M. Scott stopped at the pharmacy to enjoy a bowl of ice cream. Instead of just plain vanilla, Platt topped the scoops with cherry syrup and a candied cherry. The dessert looked and tasted so delightful it required its own name.
- It was named for the day it was created. Ithica also has some historical evidence supporting this, including the advertisement for a Cherry Sunday.
- Various American localities have claimed to be the birthplace of the ice cream sundae,including Two Rivers, Wisconsin; Plainfield, Illinois; Evanston, Illinois; New York City; New Orleans, Louisiana; Ithaca, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; and Buffalo, New York. Read more about the Sundae’s history
- In 1985, the biggest Ice Cream sundae was made in California. It stood 12ft tall and was made with 4,667 gallons of ice Cream.
- It takes 12 lbs. of milk to make just one gallon of ice cream.
- The average American eats about 20 quarts of ice cream a year―the world’s highest per capita consumption, according to the International Dairy Foods Association.
- Marco Polo brought back a sherbet dessert recipe from China.
- Chocolate syrup is the world’s most popular ice cream topping.
- According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origin of the term sundae is obscure; however, it is generally accepted that the spelling “sundae” derives from the English word Sunday, or from the German – Sonntag, which means Sunday.
- There is actually an ice cream diet designed for weight loss.
- In 1904, an ice cream vendor ran out of cones. He was at the World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, and he was facing high demand from guests. Desperate for a solution, he turned to a waffle vendor nearby. Together, they came up with the idea to mold the waffles into cones and serve the ice cream in there. Customers loved the idea, and the waffle cone was officially born.
- The United States is one of the top 3 countries in the world with the highest ice cream consumption. The country that consumes the most ice cream per capita is Australia where, on average, 29.2 pints of ice cream is consumed per person each year.
- California is the country’s top ice cream producer. That’s no surprise, since it’s also the top dairy producer in the country.
- Can you guess what America’s favorite flavor is? If you guessed chocolate, rocky road, or cookies n’ creme, you’re wrong. It’s actually vanilla.
- We Know How Many Licks it Takes to Get Through a Scoop. The magic number is 50.
- George Washington’s expense ledgers note a “cream machine for ice” on May 17, 1784.
- Longest career as an ice-cream man..Allan Ganz (USA, b. 13 Jul 1937), has been selling ice-cream since 1947, when he was just 10 years old. He achieved the record in 2014, in Peabody, Massachusetts, USA, at the age of 76.
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