Sundae

A sundae ( ) is an ice cream frozen dessert of American origin that typically consists of one or more scoops of ice cream topped with a sweet sauce or syrup and other toppings such as sprinkles, whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate chips, M&M's, peanuts, cookies, chocolate brownies, maraschino cherries, or other fruits (e.g. bananas and pineapple in a banana split).

Etymology

The first recorded use in the Oxford English Dictionary, from an advertisement in Ithaca, New York, April 5, 1892, spells the word "Sunday": "Evidence suggests that the use of Sunday to designate an ice-cream dish of this kind originates with Chester Platt, proprietor of Platt and Colt's Pharmacy in Ithaca, New York, who is said to have served it ... after the Sunday church service on 3 April 1892. A letter from a patent attorney dated 24 March 1894 shows that Platt sought advice on trademark protection for the use of 'Sunday' for ice-cream novelties a few days earlier." The respelling as "sundae" may be a result of that trademark protection: "The motivation for the subsequent respelling of the word ... is uncertain: it may reflect an attempt by other retailers to avoid a perceived breach of trademark; it may be a reaction to the religious associations of Sunday as a day of abstinence; or it may simply have been intended to be eye-catching."

History

Among the many stories about the invention of the sundae, a frequent theme is that the ice cream sundae was a variation of the popular ice cream soda. According to an account published by the Evanston Public Library (Illinois), the sale of soda was prohibited on Sundays in Illinois because they were considered too "frilly". Other origin stories for the sundae focus on the novelty or inventiveness of the treat or the name of the originator and make no mention of legal pressures.