Bananas, which are used to make banana splits, a classic type of ice cream sundae.
There are several accounts of who invented ice cream. It is possible that all three are true. The addition of syrup to ice cream may have occurred spontaneously in various places. Also, someone could have invented the dish, before the dates of the various sundae invention reports, and it just didn’t catch on. Ice cream historians consider three possible stories as the genesis of the ice cream sundae.
A story about creating ice cream sundaes shows a cherry-flavored vanilla ice cream.
The earliest date of invention is 1881 and is attributed to two competing soda owners in Wisconsin. Ed Berners of Two Rivers, Wisconsin reportedly began adding used soda syrup as a topping for ice cream and charged a nickel for this result which pleased so many customers. Meanwhile, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, George Giffy also appreciated the results of Berners’ new construction, but felt five cents was too cheap. Giffy decided to serve ice cream only on Sundays. Later, the name of the frozen dessert was deliberately incorrect so as not to offend the religious who treated Sunday as a special day.
Competing frozen soda owners in Wisconsin may have invented the ice cream sundae.
The next date in the history of ice cream sundaes is 1890, when Evanston, Illinois passed a law banning the use of sparkling water on Sundays. Soda fountains obviously couldn’t make frozen soda, nor could they serve regular soda on Sundays, but they could still serve soda syrup and ice cream. Few can agree on the first soda shop or the first person to add syrup to ice cream in Illinois, but several soda shops have started serving this delicious treat due to the soda ban.
Another account occurs later in the history of ice cream, in 1893. Chester Platt, owner of Platt & Colt’s Drugstore in Ithaca, New York, wanted to make a special ice cream for one of his customers, Reverend John Scott. He added cherry syrup to vanilla ice cream and topped it off with a cherry. The name, as the story goes, was derived from the fact that it took place on a Sunday.
Many food historians believe that the most reliable accounts are from Two Rivers and Ithaca. However, Evanston’s story also makes sense. In the early 20th century, ice cream sundaes were all the rage in many parts of the United States, and owners of ice cream parlors, soda shops, and drug stores became increasingly creative with the types of toppings added. Hot fudge was already a dessert topping before the advent of the ice cream sundae and has become a natural addition. The banana split, perhaps one of the most popular variations on the ice cream sundae, has another controversial history, but it was probably created in 1904 by David Evans Strickler at the Tassel Pharmacy in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.