Sprinkles are one of the best and most colorful toppings out there, and they continue to be incredibly popular, to boot! But have you ever wanted to know more about your favorite ice cream topping? Read on to find out where sprinkles came from and the different names for the treat across the United States.

The history of sprinkles

Exactly who invented the topping we know (and love) is up for debate. Recipes that include vague references to what we today call sprinkles date back to the eighteenth century in France, where bakers used “nonpareils” to decorate cakes, desserts and other sweets. Today, confectioners still use the term “nonpareils,” though it typically refers to a specific type of sprinkle, rather than the topping as a whole. 

Despite the French name “nonpareils” pointing to a French origin of the decadent dessert topping, the origin is still up for debate. There is just as much evidence that sprinkles could have in fact been created by the Dutch or be an American invention. 

One thing we do know is that it took famous Dutch chocolatiers, whose chocolate is renowned around the world, until 1936 to perfect the chocolate sprinkle. The topping wasn’t even used for desserts originally, though, instead chocolate sprinkles were used as a topper for artisan breads and even toast.

The different names for sprinkles

Depending on where you live, sprinkles might have a different name!

If you live in New England, there’s a different name for sprinkles that might just throw you for a loop if you’re from out of town. Sprinkles in this part of the United States are referred to as “jimmies.” 

The history of this quirky name for our favorite ice cream topping comes from 1920s Brooklyn, NY where an entrepreneur named Samuel Born started a candy company called Just Born. One of the employees of Just Born named James Bartholomew (nicknamed, you guessed it, Jimmy) worked on a machine at the candy company that created Just Born’s newest confectionary invention—what we know today as sprinkles. The urban legend says that the invention was coined “jimmies” after the operator of the machine that created the candies!

Oddly enough, though, there is an alternative origin story to the name “jimmies” that is up for debate, just like the original creators of sprinkles altogether are up for debate (Dutch? French? American? We may never truly know.)

In this alternative history of the “jimmies” sprinkle name-origin, the name still became popular thanks to Brigham’s Ice Cream Shop serving up jimmies on each and every scoop, but the name didn’t come from Just Born’s employee, Jimmy. Instead, the name is said to have come from Dr. Sidney Farber. Dr. Farber was a well-known researcher and doctor in the Boston area who co-founded the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. According to this version of sprinkles history, Dr. Farber founded a cancer charity named after one of his child patients, The Jimmy Fund. This version of the story goes that this is the reason sprinkles came to be known as “jimmies,” and that the name just stuck!

So now that you know a bit more about one of the best ice cream toppings around, all that’s left to do is get yourself a scoop of delicious ice cream and top it off with some sprinkles! Stop by Besties Ice Cream today to get your favorite flavor and some colorful sprinkles to accompany the treat.