Saturday, November 5, 2011

Ice Cream Sandwich in Scotland and the United States

In Scotland they are known as 'sliders' or an ice cream wafer - usually served as vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two rectangle, chocolate wafers.

In Scotland one can buy sliders consisting of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two wafers. Then you can have a nougat wafer (Ice Cream sandwiched between a wafer and a nougat wafer). A nougat wafer is an Italian style meringue between two wafer biscuits and then the meringue encased in chocolate. Then there is the double nougat, Ice Cream sandwiched between two nougat wafers. The wafers are NOT covered in chocolate, only the edges. You would also get snowballs (Italian style meringue covered in chocolate and coconut) and served in cafe's with Ice cream, Oysters, made out of 2 wafer biscuits in the shape of a shell, with cream inside and chocolate and coconut on the outside to hold them together, They are prized open and ice cream added - delicious. The main manufacturer in Glasgow, and most people said the best, was the Verbest Cream Wafer Company which ceased after the manufacturer died in 1963.

In the United States, an ice cream sandwich is a slice of ice cream, commonly vanilla although other flavors are often used, sandwiched between two wafers, usually chocolate and rectangular. The current version was invented in 1945 by Jerry Newberg when he was selling ice cream at Forbes Field. Pictures from the Jersey Shore circa 1905. "On the beach, Atlantic City," 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company, show Ice Cream sandwiches were popular at 1c each .

Alternatives to wafers are often used, such as chocolate chip cookies. Many companies offer alternatives to the conventional ice cream sandwich as well, such as San Francisco's It's-It, who use oatmeal cookies and dip the sandwich in dark chocolate, New Jersey-based Rice Creams Inc. uses a combination of crispy marshmallow wafers and ice cream.

August 2nd is promoted in the United States as 'National Ice Cream Sandwich Day', although the origins of the designation are unclear and there appears to be no evidence to support any official 'national' designation.

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