The history of ice cream is shrouded in mystery, so it’s no surprise that the origins of the ice cream sundae are equally cloudy.

By definition a sundae is ice cream, typically served in a bowl-like glass, and topped with whipped cream, syrup (usually chocolate), nuts and other goodies. It sounds simple, but there are actually several theories about how the sundae came to be. Here are few of the most popular:

The first takes place in Evanston, Illinois. In 1890, many pastors felt that “sucking soda” was in poor taste, so Evanston became one of the first towns to prohibit the sale of soda water on Sunday. Not wanting to close down the shop during one of the busiest days of the week, many local soda fountain operators simply removed the soda water from their ice cream sodas and thus the sundae was born.

The second takes place around the same time in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. It was here that a customer order a dish of ice cream at a local soda fountain and got the crazy idea to ask for it topped with some of the syrup used to make the soda. The idea caught on and began selling once a week on “Ice Cream Sundays.” Soon the popularity of the treat made it a seven-day-a-week treat and the name was changed slightly to accommodate.

The last story finds us in Ithaca, New York in 1893 when the Reverend John Scott walked into Platt & Colt Pharmacy on a Sunday and ordered a dish of vanilla ice cream. The owner decided to add some cherry syrup and a cherry, the Reverend loved it, and the treat was renamed after the day is was invented.

If you’re still not sure who to believe, more information (and more theories) can be found here.

Does anyone else get really excited when they fire up the ice cream machine on Iron Chef America?

For those not familiar with the Food Network show, each episode features a guest chef who faces off against one of the show's “Iron Chefs.” Both teams are given one hour to prepare a variety of dishes using a mystery ingredient unveiled right before the timer begins. At the end, the dishes are judged by a panel based on taste, appearance and creativity and a winner is crowned.

Scoring creativity points isn't easy, which is probably why some chefs go out on a limb by creating some unusual flavors with the ice cream machine (host Alton Brown calls the machine “the ice cream machine of doom”). Say what you will about it, but it's actually a very nice Italian-made model by Carpigiani.

It's usually used to churn up a dessert course while the chefs are busy with other dishes, but when the secret ingredient is mushrooms or catfish (and every dish has to include that ingredient) you can see why some people might get a little nervous (or excited) when they learn that ice cream is on the menu.

Thankfully, these are professional chefs, which means they can make an asparagus themed ice cream and it actually tastes good. They've also made beet ice cream, bacon ice cream and the now legendary trout ice cream. Try that at home and the results might be drastically different.

Many of you may know that 2006 marks the 75th anniversary of Turkey Hill Diary and to celebrate we’re giving away 75 authentic Lancaster County prizes (including a complete Amish wardrobe, a vintage farm truck and a real, live Holstein cow).

Not long ago, we welcomed Doris and Bill Collins of Dagsboro, Delaware as the winners of the “Employees for a Day” prize. The prize included a two-night stay at Mellinger Manor, a bed & breakfast in nearby Conestoga, Pa. On the day they were scheduled to join our research & development team, Doris and Bill were picked up in true Turkey Hill style by an official company refrigerator truck towing our famous Giant Cow. That’s them below, right before leaving for the Dairy.

Their time on the payroll included a detailed tour and a trip through the ice cream freezer, where temperatures dip to minus 20 degrees. They also got a glimpse of the mixing, packaging and shipping processes. The day’s work concluded in the tasting room, where Doris and Bill were schooled in the fine art of professional ice cream tasting. It was a task in which they both claimed to “plenty of first-hand experience.”

Speaking of eating experience, tomorrow is the big day. Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels to all!

Just in time for Thanksgiving, this recipe is a twist on the traditional pumpkin pie. If anyone makes this, we’d love to hear how it turned out!

PUMPKIN ICE CREAM PIE

3 cups of Turkey Hill Vanilla Light Ice Cream, softened
3 large eggs
1 ¾ cups fresh pumpkin (or 15-oz. can of solid pumpkin)
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice (or ½ tsp. cinnamon)
additional cinnamon (optional)
2 9″ pie shells (not deep dish)

In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs slightly. Stir in pumpkin, sugar, salt, and spice. Add softened ice cream and beat until smooth. Pour into pie shells. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon if desired. Bake at 425* for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350* and bake 30 minutes more. Cool on racks for two hours. Chill before serving.

(Recipe submitted by Betty Esbenshade. Thanks Betty!)

You may have noticed our ice cream expert, Ernie, has been taking questions about some of the technical aspects of the ice cream process via the link in the right hand column of this blog. He's been in the dairy industry for over 40 years, and grew up on a dairy farm in New York State, so ask away. A couple times each month, your questions will be answered by Ernie on this blog. Here's one to get us started.

Where does all the cream that you use in your ice cream come from?

Thanks for your question, JC. All of our milk and most of our cream comes from local sources, but during the summer, when Lancaster County cows are producing less milk, some of the cream is delivered via 50,000 lb. tanker trucks that may come from as far away as California.

The cream is loaded at near freezing temperature into a well insulated, giant thermos-like tank and two drivers make the trip across the country to Turkey Hill. When the trucks arrive at our plant, the cream is tested and the temperature is taken to make sure it's still at refrigerator-like temperatures. Within hours it is being incorporated into ice cream.

Hope this helps!

Ernie

It’s been a little over a week so far, and we have to admit, we’re very pleased with the amount of visitors the Ice Cream Journal has been receiving.

Recently, Kathleen from South Carolina commented that she was suffering “unbearable Turkey Hill withdraws” after moving down South from Pennsylvania three years ago. Little did she know, Turkey Hill Ice Cream may have been closer than she thought (though still about 100 miles away).

Many people might not realize it, but there’s a “Find Us” tool on our website that allows fans of our products—whether it’s ice cream or iced tea—to locate the nearest Turkey Hill distributor near them. It’s perfect for those who have moved away from formerly lush Turkey Hill territories to states just outside our normal area of distribution.

Check out the “Find Us” tool here. All you need is a zip code and, if the nearest store is more than 50 miles away, a cooler full of ice. But even if it’s too far to drive, don’t worry. We’re expanding into new markets all the time, and yours might be next.

Opening a fresh container of ice cream is always exciting. You get to see all the swirls and chocolate bits and cookie dough chunks (hopefully lots of them) all lying there waiting to be scooped up into your bowl. And sometimes you see something like the picture below.

This container of Turkey Hill French Vanilla Ice Cream was purchased by a customer last month, who then sent us this picture. No word on whether this happy half gallon will be sold for thousands on eBay or attract hoards of mystified and adoring fans, but as far as cultural icons go, the smiley face is right up there with the best of’em.

We get this question a lot, so we thought it would be appropriate to address it here on our blog. Believe it or not, some people are immune to ice cream headaches. We call these people lucky. The rest of us, however, know exactly what it feels like.

Ice cream headaches (also known as “brain freeze”), happen when very cold items, like ice cream or slushy drinks, are consumed quickly. The scientific name is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgis – what a mouthful. When these items contact the nerves in the roof of your mouth, the nerves overreact and tell certain blood vessels in your head to become larger causing an increase in blood pressure in the head. This expansion is what causes the headache. The best way to avoid the headache is to eat slower, which allows the nerves to warm up between bites.

But this is only the most popular theory. Others think it’s caused by the same vessels constricting and dilating like in your fingers when you come in from playing in the snow, or from irritation of the optic nerve that’s close to the roof of your mouth. Others say it from blood rushing to your stomach to warm it, decreasing the blood in your head. Kayakers and surfers report the same pain when they are hit by cold water in the face.

DID YOU KNOW? Some studies show that people who experience migraine headaches are much more likely to experience ice cream headaches.

Of course, ice cream headaches are harmless and usually go away after about 30 seconds. Can’t wait that long? Here’s a few tips we’ve heard over the years for how to get rid of them. We can’t say whether or not all of them will work, but it’s worth a shot!

- Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth

- Hold whatever gave you the headache against your forehead (this one doesn’t sound effective, but it would be funny to watch)

If you’ve got any tips of your own, feel free to leave a comment. In the near future, we’ll be putting all of these remedies to the test and reporting the results in an upcoming post.

We forgot to mention this in Wednesday’s post. Since we don't want to be the ones doing all the talking on this blog, we've decided to encourage all of you to comment as often as you'd like by giving away some free stuff to comment makers chosen at random.

Here's how it works. When you leave a comment, however short or long it may be, you have the option of entering your e-mail address. Those comments with an e-mail address (we need it to contact you in case you win), will be entered to win the monthly prizes.

The prizes might be some coupons for free ice cream or they might be ice cream-related stuff that we'll be reviewing on the blog. That includes things like books, ice cream scoops, t-shirts or other products that happen to catch our eye. (Anyone have any suggestions?) We'll also let you know on the blog who the winners are each month just so you don't think we're kidding about all this prize giveaway stuff!

Look how far ice cream has come. From its first days in China about 3,000 years ago to its rise in popularity in the late 1800s and now its very own blog.

Everyone here at Turkey Hill is very excited about this opportunity to discuss our love of ice cream and interact with fellow ice cream lovers, whether you're from Pennsylvania, California or halfway across the globe. We get so many questions about ice cream and the ice cream making process, and this is our chance to talk about it and share our knowledge with you. We also noticed that just about everyone likes ice cream, but there aren't many ice cream blogs out there to satisfy our curiosity.

For those of you who aren't familiar with blogs, it's just a section of our website that we'll use to write about ice cream facts, stories, recipes and offer a behind-the-scenes look at what's happening at Turkey Hill. Fun stuff really. We'll try to keep it as interesting and light-hearted as possible. We'll also be updating our blog about three times each week, so feel free to stop by often. (To be notified when the blog is updated, just submit your e-mail address via the column on the right of this page.)

Feel free to leave feedback and comments using the “comments” link at the bottom of every entry. We really want to hear what you think as often as possible, so don't worry about commenting “too often.” (There's no such thing.)

Your opinions, ideas and questions are a big part of what has made Turkey Hill Ice Cream into what it is today. We've created new flavors, new website options and even put our ice cream in new stores based on your suggestions. You don't even have to leave a detailed comment. If you simply like our blog or a particular entry, just let us know. We'll also try our best to respond to each and every comment and question you leave.

The bottom line? This blog is meant to be fun. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoy writing it. And, just like ice cream, feel free to share it with friends!

Quintin Frey

President, Turkey Hill Dairy