Can you figure what is common in cocktails such as Gin Ricky, Old Fashioned and SideCar? Go on, take a wild guess. Well, as it turns out, all of these global favourite cocktails rose to prominence during the Prohibition era, between 1920 to 1933, when there was a constitutional ban on the sale, production and manufacturing of liquor across the United States. Thus, proving how most extraordinary things require extraordinary circumstances to come to life.
History is replete with examples showing how bans and restrictions have never stopped genius minds from creating something unique, and the same is the case with our favourite ice-cream dessert, Sundae.
According to many historians, Sundae started as a variation of ice cream soda. It turns out, the sale of soda was prohibited on Sundays in Illinois as it was considered too decorated and frilly. The makers complied with the law by serving ice cream without soda with a handful of syrups and sauces. This Soda-less ice–cream soda made people wait for Sundays, but later the dessert sale continued on other days too. A Methodist leader objected to the dessert named after the day of Sabbath, so the spelling was changed to Sundae.
Contesting Theories
There are, of course, countless alternative origin stories of this particular dessert made with one or more ice cream scoops drizzled over with sweet sauces, finished off with fruits, nuts, candies and chocolates. Cities like New York, New Orleans, Ohio, Louisiana, Cleaveland and Plainfield often claim to be the place of Sundae’s origin. And the rivalry between Two Rivers, Wisconsin and Ithaca, New York is also dubbed as the ‘Sundae Wars’ in popular culture after an incident where certain residents of Two Rivers expressed their displeasure when mayor Carolyn K. Peterson claimed Ithaca to be 'the birthplace of Sundae'
As per Two Rivers claim, which is primarily based on the story of George Hallauer, who asked Edward C. Berners, the owners of Berners' Soda Fountain, to pour some chocolate syrup over ice cream, making him create the 'first-ever' Sundae in the year 1899. Berners sold the treat for a nickel on Sundays and later every day.
As per Ithaca, New York’s version which has also been attested by The History Centre in Tompkins County, New York. On April 3, 1892, which happened to be a Sunday, Ithaca’s Unitarian Church minister John M. Scott, and Chester Platt, co-owner of Platt & Colt Pharmacy, created the ‘first-ever Sundae by dousing ice cream soups in cherry syrup and candied cherries. This unique dish was named 'Cherry Sunday' by the creators, and they also placed a newspaper ad for the same in Ithaca’s Daily Journal on April 5, 1892. Later the Platt & Colt soda fountain also served "Strawberry Sundays" and later, "Chocolate Sundays". Platt called it Sunday as a tribute to the day the ice cream dessert was created, but certain church representatives seemed to have a problem with it, so the name was changed to Sundae, legends say.
As we said earlier, there are stories galore, some with more than a few uncanny similarities. However, by the early 1900s, Sundae was a dessert to reckon with in the USA. It was sold everywhere from streets to drug stores in unique variations, like The Banana Split, Black Hawke Sundae, Cocoa Caramel Sundae, and Opera Sundae. A Sundae variant was also dedicated to the first president of the United States, George Washington.
Are you craving a Sundae now? Here’s a lovely recipe you may enjoy any week of the day.