June 2nd is a day made for chocolate, marshmallows, and nuts. It’s National Rocky Road Day! In the United States, the most popular way to eat Rocky Road is in ice cream.
- 1660 – Ice cream became available to the general population in France in 1660.
- 1665 – The first time a recipe was written down for ice cream was 1665.
- 1700s – Ice cream was introduced to America in the 1700s but was mostly enjoyed by those of status and wealth.
- 1851 – The first commercial ice cream plant was opened in Baltimore in 1851 by Jacob Fussell.
- 1853 – The Rocky Road dessert (not ice cream) was first created in Australia in 1853. Unscrupulous businessmen took confectionery items that had been spoiled by their journey from Europe and mixed them with local nuts as well as low-quality chocolate. The name was used as a reference to the rocky road that travelers used to access the gold fields.
- 1903 – Italo Marchiony sold his homemade ice cream from a pushcart on Wall Street. He reduced his overhead caused by customers breaking or wandering off with his serving glasses by baking edible waffle cups with sloping sides and a flat bottom. He patented his idea in 1903
- 1909 – The first known recipe for Rocky Road originated not in California, but in Kansas. Several editions of Rigby’s Reliable Candy Teacher were published by W. O. and Fred Rigby beginning in 1909. For the 13th edition, copyrighted in 1920, they included a recipe for “Rocky Road,” which is a little weirder than today’s version.
- 1920s – Sometime during the late 1920s, William Dreyer used inspiration from his partner Joseph Edy’s chocolate candy to make rocky road ice cream. He used his wife’s sewing scissors to chop up marshmallows and walnuts and added them to chocolate ice cream.
- 1920 – According to a Mental Floss article investigating Rocky Road’s origins, the earliest American recipe for Rocky Road is a candy cookbook published in Kansas in 1920. That version includes the rather unusual addition of honey crème whip.
- 1929 – Soon after, the stock market crashed, in 1929, this ice cream was given the name Rocky Road to bring smiles to faces during the Great Depression.
- 1946 – Americans celebrated the victory of WWII with ice cream. In 1946, they ate more than 20 quarts of ice cream per person.
- 1983 – Singer Weird Al Yankovich famously shared his love of Rocky Road with his parody song “I Love Rocky Road” in 1983.
- 1988 – In Edmonton Alberta, Canada, the biggest ice cream sundae in recorded history is made.
- 2003 – Portland, Oregon bought more ice cream per person than any other U.S. city.
- Another who laid claim to the creation of Rocky Road ice cream was George Fenton. He had blended a candy bar into chocolate ice cream creating the creamy dessert.
- There are contradictory claims that the recipe came from creamery owner George Fenton. Fenton’s Creamery claims that Dreyer and Edy used Fenton’s idea and served Rocky Road at their own shop.
- It takes 12 lbs. of milk to make just one gallon of ice cream.
- The U.S. enjoys an average of 48 pints of ice cream per person, per year, more than any other country.
- It takes an average of 50 licks to polish off a single scoop ice cream cone.
- An average dairy cow can produce enough milk in her lifetime to make a little over 9,000 gallons of ice cream.
- The U.S. has a national average of 48 pints of ice cream enjoyed per person every year — way more than any other nation.
Sources:
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
