National Banana Split Day recognizes the sweet ice cream treat served with a banana, whipped cream, and various toppings. Get yours on August 25th!
How to Make a Banana Split
Originally served in drug stores, soda fountains and ice cream parlors, the banana split is traditionally served in a long dish called a boat. To make a banana split, cut the banana lengthwise and place it in the dish. Then add scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream between the slices of banana. Each scoop gets a topping; add crushed pineapple to the strawberry, drizzle chocolate syrup over the vanilla, and add strawberry topping to the chocolate. Next, sprinkle with crushed nuts. Finally, garnish with whipped cream and maraschino cherries.
A 23-year-old apprentice pharmacist at Tassel’s Pharmacy in Latrobe, Pennsylvania created the first banana split in 1904. David Evans Strickler enjoyed inventing sundaes at the store’s soda fountain. For only 10 cents, Strickler sold his first “banana-based triple ice cream sundae,” double the cost of all the other sundaes.
National Soft Ice Cream Day on August 19th gives us a tasty way to cool off on a hot summer day. Whether you enjoy it in a bowl or on a cone, grab some soft serve and enjoy!
Melting Ice Cream
In 1934 on Memorial Day weekend in Hartsdale, New York, Tom Carvel had a flat tire. After pulling his ice cream truck into a parking lot, the businessman knew his product was melting. As vacationers drove by, Carvel sold the softened ice cream to them. Surprisingly, they loved the soft ice cream! The potential for a new dessert was not lost on the salesman. Instead of roving ice cream truck, Carvel could have a fixed location with soft ice cream.
Two years later, Tom Carvel opened his first ice cream store on the site where his truck broke down. In the preceding years, Carvel patented a super low-temperature ice cream machine and created a secret formula ice cream.
It wasn’t long before other businesses began to crop up. The hard ice cream industry began to object. Despite both products providing similar flavors, servings, and enjoyment, they were different. Hard ice cream business did suffer a reduction in revenue during the first years of soft ice cream’s popularity. Even the Minnesota legislature passed laws prohibiting the sale (technically by law it was considered to be ice milk) of soft-serve ice cream from a machine. It had to be sold pre-packaged. The law was later changed. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 19 Aug 1951)
How different are soft and hard ice creams? While they are made with the same ingredients, soft ice cream has less milk fat. It also has more air than hard ice cream. Both of these factors contribute to the ice cream being more delicate and smoother. The milk fats in the hard ice cream cause it to be firmer when frozen.
Another difference is the temperatures the ice creams are kept frozen. Soft ice cream machines keep a temperature of -6°C. However, hard ice cream is kept at a temperature of -12°C. While that might not seem like a big difference, the evidence is in the ice creams.
There are many ways to enjoy soft ice cream. Order a dipped cone or have a sundae. Soft ice cream comes in a variety of flavors. One that seems to taste better as soft serve is chocolate mint. However, that may just be an opinion. Go out for some soft ice cream and use #NationalSoftIceCreamDay to post on social media.
On August 6, National Root Beer Float Day tells us to float a scoop of vanilla ice cream in an ice-cold mug of frothy root beer. The classic beverage creates a creamy treat loved by generations!
Also known as the “Black Cow,” the root beer float got its start in Colorado in a mining camp. Frank J. Wisner of Cripple Creek, Colorado, gets the credit for inventing the “Black Cow” way back in August of 1893.
One night Wisner, owner of the Cripple Creek Cow Mountain Gold Mining Company, was staring out the window and thinking about the line of soda waters he was producing for the citizens of Cripple Creek when he came upon an idea. The full moon that night shined on the snow-capped Cow Mountain and reminded him of a scoop of vanilla ice cream. He hurried back to his bar and scooped a spoonful of ice cream into the children’s favorite flavor of soda, Myers Avenue Red Root Beer. After trying, he liked it and served it the very next day. It was an immediate hit.
Wisner named the new creation, “Black Cow Mountain” but the local children shortened the name to “Black Cow”.
Since its inception, thousands of root beer floats have been enjoyed around the country each day.
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalRootBeerFloatDay
Gather up some root beer and ice cream and mix up the perfect root beer float. Enjoy a root beer float over lunch or dinner at your favorite restaurant. Use #RootBeerFloatDay to post on social media and spread the word.
American Family Day on the First Sunday in August encourages us to enjoy the waning summer rays with those dearest to us.
Principally, the day encourages families to spend time with one another. Unlike some other familial holidays, the proclamation of the day discourages gift giving. Instead, the observance urges focusing on family relationships. As August is Family Fun Month, this holiday is a chance to spend more time making memories with your family.
"Live your life with love as your guiding principle - keep you family and close friends close." - Barbara Bush
While we all may not need a reminder to focus on our family, sometimes we get caught up in the business of life. Perhaps there’s never time for the whole family to be together. Occasionally, we realize one family member or another needs more attention. Time slips by, and we need to check in on a parent or an elderly relative.
Connecting with those who mean the most to us maintains our foundations. Even our newest family members need nurturing, so they continue to grow and blossom. The best gift we can give our families is ourselves.
AMERICAN FAMILY DAY HISTORY
Now annually celebrated across the United States on the first Sunday in August, this day began as a 1-year proclamation. It was signed by Governor Raul Castro, declaring August 7, 1977, as American Family Day. The following year, Governor Bruce Babbit signed the day into law as an official Arizona holiday.
Make some time this month for family fun. Have a movie night, make your pizza, family game night, make your own ice cream, or sundaes. These simple activities bring us closer.
My parents were considered very old fashioned when we were growing up. We are at least one meal together, it was prepared together and we ate together. Conversation flowed about the day, school, upcoming plans, and what movie it game were we engaging in next.
Those conversations yielded values, appreciation, respect, the value of a dollar, and a lack of reliance on technologies. We learned life skills without knowing it. How to cook, communicate, problem solving, compromise and fairness. If you had asked any of us at the time I’m quite sure we were oblivious, but those lessons have seen us through more than one life challenging event.
So laugh, love and live! As the years go by you’ll always have those memories. So no matter what else comes along the path of life no one can take that from you.
The origins of Family Fun Month have not been determined. Who cares? Use this as a great chance to make lasting memories. If 2020 has taught us anything it should be to remember who is important to you and never take the time you have for granted.
