National Hot Fudge Sundae

In the United States, July 25th is National Hot Fudge Sundae Day.

The hot fudge sundae is just one of many different possible variation on the sweet ice cream dessert called the sundae. One of the primary differences of this dessert, and the subsections of sundaes of which it is a part, is the use of a heated sauce or syrup. Sauces and syrups are an integral part of the sundae, but these are usually cold. In this particular one, the sauce is heated first, creating a contrast between the cold of the ice cream and the heat of the sauce. With the sauce being hot, this dessert needs serving, and eating, quickly, or the ice cream will begin to melt.

The traditional hot fudge sundae uses vanilla ice cream, but other flavours can be used. This would normally be served in a sundae glass, with sprinkles, the "hot fudge" (which is actually hot chocolate sauce), whipped cream and nuts, all of which is then topped with a single maraschino cherry, a preserved and sweetened cherry.

National Strawberry Sundae Day

July 7th is National Strawberry Sundae Day in the United States.

This is yet another day celebrating yet another flavour of the sundae. Sundaes are an ice cream dessert that are topped with syrup, sauces and fruit, although what depends on the recipe, of which there are many. Sundaes in general are believed to have originated in the 19th century United States, although their precise origins are disputed.

In this particular sundae recipe, strawberries are, not surprisingly, an important component, along with the ice cream. Before the strawberries are added to the sundae, they are usually chopped up, sugared, and left to stand for at least an hour to create a sweet syrup. The flavour of ice cream used can vary, but vanilla is the most common one. Another regular component of the strawberry sundae is strawberry syrup, especially if the strawberries weren't sugared beforehand.

National Sundae Day

November 11th is National Sundae Day in the United States.

Sundaes are an ice cream dessert. Although the precise origin of the name is uncertain, as is the origin of the sundae itself, it's believed that it does come from the word Sunday, in one origin story because the drinking of sodas was banned on Sundays. This was, as you can probably tell, some years back.

There are many different places in the US that claim to be the origin point of the ice cream sundae. The earliest of these is from Two Rivers, Illinois, where the owner of Berners' Soda Fountain, Edward C. Berners, was apparently asked to drizzle chocolate syrup over ice cream back in 1881. This is disputed, as it is claimed that Berners would have been too young to own a soda fountain back then.

Ice cream sodas were banned in some states of the US on Sundays, so sundaes got around that by simply skipping out the soda part of the ice cream soda.

Whatever their origin, a sundae is classically made from vanilla ice cream, flavoured sauce, whipped cream and a maraschino cherry on top. There are many, many more varieties of sundaes than that, though, with more ingredients such as fruit included in some.