The Origins of Rocky Road
The History surrounding the creation of this Popular flavor is…um…a little rocky.
It’s one of America’s most beloved ice cream flavors, and one with a quirky name to boot, but just where did Rocky Road ice cream come from? Who created this particular flavor of our favorite frozen treat, and why is it named Rocky Road?
What exactly is Rocky Road ice cream?
This ice cream flavor is a little crunchy and oh-so-sweet, and one of the first ice cream flavors to ever be created with mix-ins! Traditional Rocky Road Ice cream is typically made from a delectable chocolate ice cream base and mixed with marshmallows and nuts. Traditional Rocky Road ice cream was made with walnuts, but many brands today make their own version of the well-loved flavor with almonds.
Where did Rocky Road ice cream come from?
Like many sweet treats, it seems that the origins of Rocky Road ice cream are a bit fuzzy. While the treat has a history that can be traced back to Great Depression-era America, that’s about the only part of this ice cream flavor’s origin that anyone can seem to agree on!
In 1920, a recipe book called Rigby’s Reliable Candy Teacher was published in Kansas. One of the recipes included in the book was an ice cream sundae called Rocky Road. The sundae was made of a scoop of chocolate ice cream topped with whipped cream, broken almond macaroons, pecans, walnuts, and a cherry. The recipe is definitely not the same as the Rocky Road ice cream we know and love today, but the same beginning ingredients are there (minus the marshmallows.)
Later, in 1929, one of the two ice cream shops that claim to have created the flavor is said to have started selling Rocky Road ice cream. Fentons Creamery, an ice cream shop in Oakland, California founded in 1894, started selling a new ice cream combination created by Melvin Fenton, the grandson of Fentons’ founder.
To make matters more complicated, William Dreyer and Joseph Edy, founders of the Dreyer’s ice cream brand (known as Edy’s on the east coast,) claim to have created Rocky Road ice cream at their own shop also in 1929, and also in Oakland, California.
Both origin stories, however, claim to have come to the name “Rocky Road” for the treat due to their creation during the Great Depression and the hard, or “rocky” times everyone was facing due to the tattered state of the economy.
Wherever the ice cream flavor Rocky Road came from, does it matter?
While Fentons Creamery has argued that they created Rocky Road ice cream first and that Dreyer’s simply replaced the walnuts in Fenton’s version of the ice cream flavor with almonds to create their own version, we’d argue that it doesn’t really matter. Whoever created one of America’s most beloved ice cream flavors, we’re grateful to them. Not only is Rocky Road still a treat enjoyed by many today, but it also paved the way for adding mix-ins to kick more typical ice cream flavors up a notch.
At Besties Ice Cream, we want you to have the ice cream that satisfies your craving, whether that’s classic vanilla, chocolate sprinkles, or even Rocky Road. Speaking of ice cream, be sure to catch the Besties Ice Cream truck around town or have us cater your next event.