Icecream Journal

The following question was submitted and answered here on the Ice Cream Journal a few years ago (it feels weird to say “a few years ago”… is the Ice Cream Journal really that old?). We liked it then and we like it now, so we’re giving it a second go ’round.

STAN L. FROM PHILADELPHIA ASKS: A tour guide in Philly told my daughter that Ben Franklin’s favorite flavor of ice cream was tomato. When she shared this with her 2nd grade class, the teacher challenged it. Is there proof of this anywhere?

Thanks for your question, Stan. Personally I’ve never heard that one, but it doesn’t mean it’s not true.

We do know that Mr. Franklin was a big fan of ice cream (along with Thomas Jefferson and George Washington) and that he was a regular at French ice cream shops in New York City and anywhere else that sold it. In the 1770’s, he got his first taste of ice cream in Paris and was so pleased with the experience that he wrote in a letter “I am making an effort to acquire the formula so we may sample this lovely fare upon my return to Philadelphia.” This tale led to Franklin being credited with introducing ice cream to the colonial states, but no one’s really 100 percent sure about that.

It was also rumored that during the blistering hot summer of the 1786 Constitutional Convention, Franklin created an ice cream recipe and invited Congressional delegates back to his home “for a special treat that was universally popular and helped steer them toward the democracy we know today.” Unfortunately that tale has since been disproven, but it sounds nice!

As for his love of tomato ice cream, an Internet search reveals no clues to this mystery. We’re not even sure if tomato ice cream existed in Ben’s day, but we do know that tomato ice cream exists today (here’s a recipe). Either way, I’m willing to bet Ben would have liked it.