Ice cream soda
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''"Black Cow" redirects here. For the 1977 song by [[Steely Dan]], see [[Aja (album)]]''.
The '''ice cream soda''', '''float''' ([[United States]] and [[East Asia]]) or '''spider''' ([[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]]) is a [[beverage]] that typically consists of scoops of [[ice cream]] in either a [[soft drink]] or a mixture of flavored syrup and [[carbonated water]]. The tiny bubbles of air present in the ice cream cause the ice cream to float and are [[nucleation|nucleation sites]] for the formation of large bubbles of [[carbon dioxide]]. This gives the beverage a "foamy head" similar to a [[beer head]]. The beverage originated in the [[United States]] in the late 19th century, and was most likely created by either Robert M. Green of [[Philadelphia]] or Fred Sanders of [[Detroit]].
==Origins==
Green's account, published in "Soda Fountain" magazine in 1910, states that while operating a [[soda fountain]] at the [[Franklin Institute]]'s semi-centennial celebration in Philadelphia in 1874, he wanted to create a new treat to attract customers away from another vendor who had a fancier, bigger soda fountain. After some experimenting, he decided to combine ice cream and soda water. During the celebration, he sold vanilla ice cream with 16 different flavors of soda water. The new treat was a sensation, and soon other soda fountains began selling ice cream sodas.
Sanders owned a successful confectionery, the Pavilion of Sweets, in Detroit, first opened in 1875. One night, some customers came in shortly before closing time and ordered sweet cream sodas. Sanders' ice delivery hadn't come that day, leading his sweet cream to go sour, so he used ice cream instead.
Regardless of its origins, this beverage quickly became very popular, to such a degree that it was almost socially obligatory among teens, although many adults abhorred it. According to legend, it was banned, either entirely or on holy days, by some local governments, giving rise to a substitute treat, the [[sundae|ice cream sundae]].
==Variations==
Variations of the ice cream soda are as countless as the varieties of soda and flavors of ice cream, but some have become more prominent over the years than others.
===Root beer float===
Also known as a "brown cow" or "black cow"<ref name="blackcow">[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEEDD1F3DF936A35752C1A96F948260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink On Language; Nice, Bossy], William Safire.</ref>, the [[root beer float]] is traditionally made with vanilla ice cream, but can also be made with other flavors.
In the United States and Canada, the chain [[A&W Restaurants]] are well known for their root beer floats. The [http://www.friendlys.com/ Friendly's] chain also had a variation known as a "sherbet cooler," which was a combination of orange or rainbow sherbet and seltzer water. (Presently, it is billed as a [http://www.friendlys.com/menu/dessert/dessert.php#fountain "slammer"].)
The definition of a brown cow varies by region. For instance in some localities, a "root beer float" has strictly vanilla ice cream; a float made with root beer and chocolate ice cream is a "chocolate cow" or a "brown cow".
===Boston cooler===
A Boston cooler is typically composed of [[ginger ale]] and vanilla ice cream. Variations abound, however, with [[Carbonated water|club soda]], [[sherbet (U.S.)|sherbet]], [[rum]], [[vanilla vodka]], [[milk]], [[sugar]], or even [[coffee]] sometimes added or substituted for the key ingredients. In [[Ohio]], the root beer floats are also referred to as a Boston cooler.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
<!-- I live in Ohio, I've never heard this term... Needs a citation. -->
The origin of the Boston cooler lies in [[Detroit, Michigan]], the city in which Fred Sanders is credited with inventing the ice cream soda in his shop along [[Boston Boulevard]]. It is known that by the 1880s the Boston cooler was being served in Detroit, made with the local [[Vernors]], an intense golden ginger ale, unlike the common modern dry ginger ales. Whatever the exact origins, the name almost certainly has no connection to [[Boston, Massachusetts]], where the beverage is virtually unknown.
It can be found most often in the Detroit region's many [[Coney Island (restaurant)|Coney Island]]-style restaurants, which are plentiful because of Detroit's [[Greektown]] district influence. [[National Coney Island]] is one of the few restaurant chains to list the Boston cooler in their menu. It is also found at the Detroit-area [[Dairy Queen]]s and at [[Halo Burger]], a mid-Michigan fast food chain.
===Snow White===
The '''Snow White''' is made with [[7 Up]] and vanilla ice cream.
The origins of this dessert is unknown, but it is found in some [[Asian cuisine|Asian]] eateries.
===Coke float===
A product served at [[McDonald's]] restaurants in several markets that utilizes [[Coca-Cola]] brand sodas and soft serve ice cream. ('Coke float' is also a common term in the West Coast of Scotland for any cola-based ice cream soda).
===Purple cow===
In the context of ice cream soda, a [[purple cow]] is vanilla ice cream in [[Concord grape]] soda. [http://www.purplecowlr.com/ The Purple Cow], a restaurant chain in the southern United States, features this and similar beverages.
==References==
<references/>
==Sources==
* Funderburg, Anne Cooper. "Sundae Best: A History of Soda Fountains" (2002) University of Wisconsin Popular Press. ISBN 0-87972-853-1.
* Gay, Cheri Y. (2001). ''Detroit Then and Now,'' p. 5. Thunder Bay Press. ISBN 1-57145-689-9.
* Bulanda, George; Bak, Richard; and Ciavola, Michelle. ''The Way It Was: Glimpses of Detroit's History from the Pages of Hour Detroit Magazine,'' p. 8. Momentum Books. ISBN 1-879094-71-1.
* Houston, Kay. [http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=192&category=life "Of soda fountains and ice cream parlors."] (Date not available.) The ''Detroit News.''
* Alissa Ozols (2008) San Francisco.
[[Category:Soft drinks]]
[[Category:Dairy products]]
[[Category:Ice cream]]
[[ja:クリームソーダ]]
[[fi:Jäätelösooda]]