On National Root Beer Float Day, August 6th, several people in Tucson headed out to Frost, where vanilla gelato and Louisiana root beer were a hot item. (Lisa Jones/Full Sail University)
Earlier this week, on August 6th it was National Root Beer Float day. A simple treat that many have known and come to love, known as a quick and easy dessert.
CNN has an idea on how the magical float was started. “Some say it started in 1874 in Philadelphia when Robert McCay Green used ice cream in his sodas because he’d ran out of cream. Others say he was trying to one up a soda vendor next to him. And still others claim a different person altogether invented the foamy beverage.”
According to the Christian Post, “It is believed that pharmacist Frank J. Wisner accidentally created the world’s first root beer float when his ice machine broke. In order to cool off customers, he served soda with cold ice cream in the glass, calling them “black cows.”
The real question is do you put the ice cream or root beer in first?
“You have to start with the ice cream first, otherwise, that’s the amateur way, “ said Thomas Kegelman, “You don’t want to make a mistake when it comes to an ice cream float.”
Marie Daw of the Examiner wrote, “There are many ways to enjoy a root beer float, as well as many different opinions on weather the ice cream or soda should go into the glass first. Regardless of which you decide to put in first, just make sure to leave enough room in the glass for that expanding foam as well as make it on a surface that you can easily wipe up. Most of the time, it does not matter how careful you are, there most likely will be a foam waterfall over the side of your glass.”
Either way, you have a delicious treat during the one of the hottest summer’s on record with over two-thirds of the country in a drought right now. It may just be the easiest way to cool down.
A recipe starting with Root Beer:
1. Fill a glass three-fourths full with root beer.
2. Slowly add one scoop on vanilla ice cream into the glass.
3. Drizzle more root beer atop the ice cream, forming a foamy mix. Keep pouring until glass is full.
4. Enjoy with a spoon or a straw, or both.
A recipe starting with Vanilla Ice Cream
- 12 your favorite root beer
- 1 gallon vanilla ice cream
- Straws and cookies, etc., for garnish
In pint-size glasses, place two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Pour one root beer per glass of ice cream. Insert a straw in each glass and serve.
Serves 12
