Sundae

Sundae

A strawberry sundae served in a clear, classic glass cup
Type	Ice cream
Course	Dessert
Place of origin	United States
Main ingredients	Ice cream, sauce or syrup, various toppings

The sundae (pronunciation: /ˈsʌndeɪ, ˈsʌndi/) is a sweet ice cream dessert. It typically consists of one or more scoops of ice cream topped with sauce or syrup, and in some cases other toppings including sprinkles, whipped cream, peanuts, maraschino cherries, or other fruits (e.g., bananas and pineapple in a banana split.).

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origin of the term sundae is obscure; however, it is generally accepted that the spelling "sundae" derives from the English word "Sunday".

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 documentation published by the Evanston Public Library (Illinois), the drinking of soda was outlawed on Sundays in Illinois.

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.

Ice cream sundae soon became the weekend semi-official soda fountain confection in the beginning of 1900s and quickly gained popularity. The Ice Cream Trade Journal for 1909 along with plain, or French sundae, listed such exotic varieties as Robin Hood sundae, Cocoa Caramel sundae, Black Hawk sundae, Angel Cake sundae, Cherry Dip sundae, Cinnamon Peak sundae, Opera sundae, Fleur D'Orange sundae, Knickerbocker sundae, Tally-Ho Sundae, Bismarck and George Washington sundaes, to name a few.