How do you spell “ice cream sundae/sunday”? Well, that question has an answer. As to the origins of this dessert, that’s a bit more tricky. Or should I say sticky?
I scream; you scream. We all scream for ice cream.
But what about that sunday? Or wait… what’s wrong with this question?
Not that you’re one to go around correcting menus with white-out and sharpies (no, seriously, not cool… even if this typo is all over the place!), but here’s the answer you’re looking for:
The correct spelling is “ice cream sundae.”
Yes, it is likely related to a day of the week, but it should not be spelled that way (anymore).
An “ice cream Sunday” might be a lovely Sunday (as in the day of the week) when one gets a special ice cream treat, but it’s not the name of that treat. An “ice cream sundae,” on the other hand is an ice cream with some sort of topping, often chocolate sauce, nuts, whipped cream and/or a cherry.
So problem solved? Not quite.
There’s an intense debate over the origin of the ice cream sundae and even the origin of its name.
The playful or perhaps not so playful dispute continues to cause some frigidity between Two Rivers, Wisconsin and Ithaca, New York over who can rightfully claim the sundae’s invention. Others vying for it also include Evanston, Illinois and Norfolk, Virginia, yet the common thread in most of these stories seems to be the idea that, like alcohol, sodas were often banned on Sundays in the late 1800s in America. These “Sunday” laws, also called “blue laws,” were in respect of the sabbath, and thus made it impossible in some locations to have an “ice cream soda,” a popular treat of the time, on Sundays. So, skipping the soda, someone had the idea of putting the syrup usually added to soda directly on top of the ice cream, the ice cream Sunday was born. Probably. Possibly.
Wait! Did you just catch my spelling? Yes, it was commonly called an “ice cream Sunday” in its early days, but it seems that out of respect for the church and the solemnity of Sundays, the spelling was changed to “sundae” to avoid any potential disrespect or offense.
Is all of the above the 100% true story? Maybe. Maybe not. You noticed my high degree of “seems” and “probably” statements in this summary. There’s likely some truth hiding in there, but the specifics aren’t facts I can guarantee (no matter what Ithaca and Three Rivers residents want to say).
Now, if we want to dig into it (as some determined high school students did in 2007–awesome, right?), the first documented ice cream sundae in the United States seems to come from Ithaca. An ad in the Ithaca Daily Journal on October 5, 1892 highlights the new specialty. Yet, we all know the birth of language (and desserts) isn’t always documented on paper immediately, so who knows?
Yes, the question of why an ice cream sundae is called an “ice cream sundae” is still up for debate, as is the exact invention of the dessert. However, one thing we do know for sure. It’s an “ice cream sundae,” folks, not an “ice cream Sunday.”
For the love of summertime, let’s at least get this part right. Should I say pretty please with a cherry on top? Yeah, I’ll go with that.
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