Ice cream and religion: A dynamic tension

Photo by Nicolas Ettlin

Although ice cream and religion may appear unrelated, their paths have actually crossed in numerous ways.  These intersections have run the gamut from oppositional to strange bedfellows.

Most people associate Quakers with oatmeal.  Seems like a wholesome combination.  However, the "Quaker Man" on the box was never associated with the Society of Friends.  He was strictly a "Madison Avenue" ploy.

Yet the real Quakers, as well as the real Madisons, have indeed been associated with ice cream.  Dolley Madison, who was raised a Quaker, served ice cream at her husband James Madison's Inaugural Ball.  It is thought that the recipe for ice cream was brought to America by Quakers who enjoyed it back in Europe.  Other stories allege that Dolley discovered ice cream at a Wilmington, Delaware shop, and that it was invented by a former slave named "Aunt" Sallie Shadd.

By 1874, ice cream had met its match: soda.  At least three people claimed credit for the invention of this fizzy wonder.  There was only one problem.  Soda, having been marketed as a miracle cure, was considered to be a substance that needed oversight and control.  By 1890, blue laws were banning its use on Sundays.  Soda shops were therefore up the creek without a straw.

A Unitarian Church minister assisted with a solution to this dilemma.  One fair 1892 Sunday, Reverend John M. Scott and Chester Platt (an Ithaca, New York pharmacy co-owner) created the very first paper-documented ice cream sundae.  They cleverly substituted syrup for soda, thus bypassing the blue laws.  Platt's first newspaper ad called the dish "Cherry Sunday" in honor of the day it was created.  He also advertised "Strawberry Sundays" and "Chocolate Sundays."  When Sabbath adherents objected to the name "Sunday," the y was later changed to an e.

If this seems like a rather unholy alliance, consider today's ambiance.  Ice cream socials have become somewhat commonplace within church circles.  They often double as fundraisers.  Kosher ice cream is also very much in vogue.

As for oats - they too have survived the harsh tests of time and tradition.  Horses love them.

Resources

https://www.thedailybeast.com/an-investigation-into-the-delicious-origins-of-ice-cream

https://www.icecreamsundae.com/