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Lifestyle

Who Invented the Ice Cream Sundae? Here’s Who You Can Thank

For most people (including myself), ice cream is the most important food group. Ice cream comes in cups, tubs, cones, shakes, and in sundaes—it doesn’t matter as long as it’s the good stuff. Sundaes in particular are as classic an American dessert as you can get, but the origins of this treat are a bit unclear. Who invented the ice cream sundae? Two different people claimed to have created the first ever sundae. Let’s dive into some history so you can get back to enjoying your sundae in peace.

The Competing Claims

who invented the ice cream sundae caramel sundae
Sarah Silbiger

The biggest contender for the invention of the sundae is a guy named Ed Berners from Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Berners was the owner of a soda fountain at the time. The development of the ice cream sundae all happened back in 1881 when one of Berners’ soda fountain customers wanted an ice cream float on a Sunday. Because it was the Sabbath, Berners had to compromise and put the soda syrup on top of the ice cream. He liked his concoction so much that he began selling “ice cream with syrup” in his store.

Although Ed Berners widely believed to be the inventor of the ice cream sundae, there’s a twist. It’s been speculated that the original ice cream sundae was actually created in Ithaca, New York. New Yorkers believe that the first sundae wasn’t created until 1892, when a local proprietor named Chester Platt served a priest vanilla ice cream with cherry syrup on top. The priest thought the treat should be called Sunday, after the day it was served to him on, but the spelling was later changed so it didn’t offend anyone.

The mayor of Ithaca told the New York Times, “We have the historical documents and they don’t,” referring to an ad from 1892 promoting a new “cherry sunday.” 

Barring the hard evidence, Berners is still the sundae king in my eyes.

The Meaning of the Name “Sundae”

Dessert, ice cream, chocolate, cream and chocolate sauce HD photo by Madeline Tallman (@lookatthedawg) on Unsplash
lookatthedawg on unsplash

What’s even more interesting about the classic ice cream sundae is where the term “sundae” even comes from. The alleged definition of the term “sundae” is that it refers to “ice cream left over from Sunday, on sale later.”

Another definition for the term sundae states that “people began ordering the treats on other days of the week, and Methodist leaders objected to naming it after the Sabbath, so the spelling was changed to sundae.

Whether or not people can agree on one solid definition for the term sundae, we should still be thanking whoever actually invented this delectable treat. 

Liz is a 25-year-old freelance writer that's based in Brooklyn, New York with her foster cat, Leif. Liz has received her start in the media world at Spoon University, and has acquired over 3.8 million views on her Spoon articles alone with millions more views on her syndicated content while finding her appreciation for consuming and producing branded content. Liz also has her articles syndicated on Business Insider, Insider, MSN, and Teen Vogue in addition to having her most popular article cited by Elite Daily. Liz has also contributed to YourTango and Entrepreneur.When Liz isn't writing, Liz is probably listening to music, walking around aimlessly like the hot mess that she is, cuddling with her cat, consuming new food dishes and drinks, at an event, at therapy with her one and only therapist that she absolutely adores, at an appointment with someone from her medical team, making up random dance moves in her bedroom, or figuring out what to do with herself. Liz's favorite cheese is feta and a pet peeve of hers is when people don't use the word "simultaneously" in the right manner.To get in touch with Liz, she can be reached at itslizab@gmail.com, @astrrisk on Instagram, and on LinkedIn. Liz is always down to be invited to an event or to talk about food, booze, and mental health. Liz's pronouns are she/her/hers.Please be patient when getting in touch with Liz - she probably is unaware as to what day it is, and might be dancing for her therapist.... to the Macarena, of course.