History of the Ice Cream Sundae
Courtesy of Mary Bellis, About.com Guide
Historians argue over the originator of the ice cream sundae, three historical probabilities are the most popular.
Origins of the Ice Cream Sundae-- Version One-- Evanston, Illinois
In the midwestern parts of the United States, laws were once passed that prohibited the selling of soda water on a Sunday. The town of Evanston, Illinois was one of the first towns to pass such a law, around the year 1880.
As an alternative on Sundays, local soda fountains started selling ice cream sodas minus the soda-- which left only the ice cream and the syrup. This sodaless soda was the "Sunday soda." As sales of the dessert continued on Mondays, local Methodist leaders then objected to naming the dish after the Sabbath, so the spelling of the name was changed to Sundae.
Origins of the Ice Cream Sundae-- Version Two-- Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Soda fountain owner, Ed Berners, of Two Rivers, Wisconsin is reputed to have invented the first ice cream sundae in 1881. Berners' customer, George Hallauer, requested that Berners serve him a dish of ice cream topped with the syrup used for sodas. Berners liked the dish and added it to his regular menu.
George Giffy, a competing soda fountain owner from nearby Manitowoc, WI felt he had to serve the same syrupy concoction as Berners. However, Giffy felt that the nickel price was too cheap and decided to only serve the dish on Sundays, which soon became the name of the dish-- the "Ice Cream Sunday".
Once Giffy realized that he was making good money from the "Ice Cream Sunday", he changed the name to the "Ice Cream Sundae" and served it daily.
Origins of the Ice Cream Sundae-- Version Three-- Itaca, New York
On Sunday, April 3, 1892, at Platt & Colt Pharmacy, Chester Platt covered dishes of ice cream with cherry syrup and candied cherries on a whim for John M. Scott, a Unitarian Church minister.
The men named the dish "Cherry Sunday" in honor of the day it was created. The oldest-known written evidence of a sundae is Platt & Colt's newspaper ad for a "Cherry Sunday" placed in the Ithaca Daily Journal on April 5, 1892. By May 1892, the Platt & Colt soda fountain also served "Strawberry Sundays" and later, "Chocolate Sundays". Platt & Colt's "Sundays" grew so popular that by 1894, Chester Platt attempted to trademark the term ice cream "Sunday".
Origins of the Ice Cream Sundae-- Version One-- Evanston, Illinois
In the midwestern parts of the United States, laws were once passed that prohibited the selling of soda water on a Sunday. The town of Evanston, Illinois was one of the first towns to pass such a law, around the year 1880.
As an alternative on Sundays, local soda fountains started selling ice cream sodas minus the soda-- which left only the ice cream and the syrup. This sodaless soda was the "Sunday soda." As sales of the dessert continued on Mondays, local Methodist leaders then objected to naming the dish after the Sabbath, so the spelling of the name was changed to Sundae.
Origins of the Ice Cream Sundae-- Version Two-- Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Soda fountain owner, Ed Berners, of Two Rivers, Wisconsin is reputed to have invented the first ice cream sundae in 1881. Berners' customer, George Hallauer, requested that Berners serve him a dish of ice cream topped with the syrup used for sodas. Berners liked the dish and added it to his regular menu.
George Giffy, a competing soda fountain owner from nearby Manitowoc, WI felt he had to serve the same syrupy concoction as Berners. However, Giffy felt that the nickel price was too cheap and decided to only serve the dish on Sundays, which soon became the name of the dish-- the "Ice Cream Sunday".
Once Giffy realized that he was making good money from the "Ice Cream Sunday", he changed the name to the "Ice Cream Sundae" and served it daily.
Origins of the Ice Cream Sundae-- Version Three-- Itaca, New York
On Sunday, April 3, 1892, at Platt & Colt Pharmacy, Chester Platt covered dishes of ice cream with cherry syrup and candied cherries on a whim for John M. Scott, a Unitarian Church minister.
The men named the dish "Cherry Sunday" in honor of the day it was created. The oldest-known written evidence of a sundae is Platt & Colt's newspaper ad for a "Cherry Sunday" placed in the Ithaca Daily Journal on April 5, 1892. By May 1892, the Platt & Colt soda fountain also served "Strawberry Sundays" and later, "Chocolate Sundays". Platt & Colt's "Sundays" grew so popular that by 1894, Chester Platt attempted to trademark the term ice cream "Sunday".