Sundae

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Image:StrawberrySundae.jpg In the United States, one of the most familiar ice cream desserts is the ice cream sundae. A typical sundae consists of a dish of ice cream topped with sauce or syrup (often chocolate, caramel, butterscotch, or strawberry-flavored), chopped peanuts, whipped cream, and a maraschino cherry.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origin of the term sundae is obscure. Various American localities claim the invention of ice cream topped with syrup. Thomas Jefferson enjoyed maple syrup on a dish of vanilla ice cream, which sounds like a sundae although the name wasn't invented until later. The newspaperman H. L. Mencken reported that the sundae was invented in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Other sources state that the ice cream sundae originated in Plainfield, Illinois; Evanston, Illinois; New York City; New Orleans, Louisiana; Cleveland, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; or Ithaca, New York.

Of the many stories about the invention of the sundae, one common theme is the sinfulness of the Ice Cream Soda and the need to produce a substitute for the popular treat for consumption on Sunday.

Gretchen Sachse of the Tompkins County, New York and the DeWitt Historical Society provides this account of how the sundae came to be: One hot Sunday afternoon in 1891 in Ithaca, New York, John M. Scott, a Unitarian Church pastor, and Chester Platt, Platt & Colt Pharmacy partner, created the first known sundae. Mr. Platt covered dishes of ice cream with syrup and candied cherries on a whim. The Platt & Colt soda fountain featured sundaes thereafter.

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Hot fudge sundae

The classic hot fudge sundae is generally a creation of vanilla ice cream, hot chocolate sauce (hence the "hot fudge") whipped cream, nuts, and a single bright red maraschino cherry on top. However, it is known equally well for being a flexible food, the end result of which generally reflects one's character. A hot fudge sundae can be made with any flavor of ice cream; though, as a chocolate sauce is generally favored, non-chocolate ice cream flavors are preferred. Likewise, any ice cream topping works well on the hot-fudge sundae, and even non-chocolate flavored syrups are sometimes used, or even a combination! The popular combination of vanilla ice cream, chocolate and caramel sauces, and toasted pecans is known as a turtle sundae. In New England, it is not uncommon to see Marshmallow Fluff used in place of whipped cream. A variation of the hot fudge sundae is the banana split, which generally has two extra scoops of ice creams of different flavors, lying over a split banana. In many instances, a hot fudge sundae is thought to be synonymous with plain, simple sundae.

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