Banana split
 A traditional banana split as served at Cabot's Ice Cream and Restaurant in Newtonville, Massachusetts. | |
| Course | Dessert |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | Pennsylvania |
| Created by | David Evans Strickler |
| Serving temperature | Cold |
| Main ingredients | Vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream Bananas Pineapple topping Chocolate syrup Strawberry topping Nuts Whipped cream Maraschino cherries |
| Variations | Multiple |
A banana split is an ice cream-based dessert. In its classic form it is served in a long dish called a boat. A banana is cut in half lengthwise (hence the split) and laid in the dish. There are many variations, but the classic banana split is made with scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream served in a row between the split banana. Pineapple topping is spooned over the vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup over the chocolate, and strawberry topping over the strawberry. It is garnished with crushed nuts, whipped cream, and maraschino cherries.[1]
History
David Evans Strickler, a 23-year-old apprentice pharmacist at Tassel Pharmacy, located at 805 Ligonier Street in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, who enjoyed inventing sundaes at the store's soda fountain, invented the banana-basedBanana Split Book. Camino Books. ISBN 094015983X</ref> The sundae originally cost 10 cents, twice the price of other sundaes, and caught on with students of nearby Saint Vincent College. News of the sundae spread by word-of-mouth by students, through correspondence, and at professional conventions.[2] Strickler went on to buy the pharmacy, naming it Strickler's Pharmacy.[3] The city of Latrobe celebrated the 100th anniversary of the invention of the banana split in 2004 and, in the same year, the National Ice Cream Retailers Association (NICRA) certified the city as its birthplace.[2]
Shortly after its invention by Strickler, a Boston ice cream entrepreneur came up with the same sundae, with one minor flaw — he served his banana splits with the bananas unpeeled until he discovered that people preferred them peeled.[4]
Wilmington, Ohio also claims an early connection. In 1907, restaurant owner Ernest Hazard wanted to attract students from Wilmington College during the slow days of winter. He staged an employee contest to come up with a new ice cream dish. When none of his workers were up to the task, he split a banana lengthwise, threw it into an elongated dish and created his own dessert. The town commemorates the event each June with a Banana Split Festival.
Walgreens is credited with spreading the popularity of the banana split. The early drug stores operated by Charles Rudolph Walgreen in the Chicago area adopted the banana split as a signature dessert. Fountains in the stores proved to be drawing cards, attracting customers who might otherwise have been just as satisfied hi their prescriptions filled at some other drug store in the neighborhood.[5]
References
- ^ Pellegrinelli, Carroll. "Banana Split". About.com. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- ^ a b Steele, Bruce (August 25, 2004). "With a Cherry on Top-Pitt fetes alums creation of banana split". University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved on September 3, 2007.
- ^ Smith, Rachel (June 22, 2006). "Latrobe's banana split a sweet 'Taste of America'". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved on September 3, 2007.
- ^ "The Soda Fountain", 1905 Birth of the banana split.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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