After the guests gobble up the turkey and all of the trimmings, it’s time for a sweet treat, but Thanksgiving dessert isn’t complete without a scoop of ice cream. Here are some popular flavors that will go with your favorite Thanksgiving pie.
Vanilla is an ice-cream flavor that goes with just about any kind of pie. The United States was introduced to vanilla ice cream when Thomas Jefferson brought the recipe to America after discovering it in France.
Pumpkin Spice ice cream is a seasonal favorite. It’s made up of heavy cream, whole milk and granulated sugar. It also contains vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves and Kosher salt. Some recipes also call for unsweetened canned pumpkin and pumpkin spice blend. You can easily make your own pumpkin spice ice cream.
Apple cider ice cream, anyone? Cider dates back to Roman times. In 55 BCE, Julius Caesar found the Celtic Britons fermenting cider from native crabapples. Nine years after the first landing at Plymouth in 1620, European colonists planted Apple trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In Colonial America cider was the most common beverage. Today, it is quickly rising in popularity once again.
If you’re hungry for apple cider ice cream, you can make it yourself. The main ingredient is fresh, unpasteurized, unsweetened apple cider, which is boiled down into a syrup.
Some historians believe the marshmallow dates back to ancient Egypt. People would extract the essence of the marshmallow plant, mix it with honey and turn it into a gooey candy. The modern day marshmallow was created in 19th century France. It’s estimated that half of the marshmallows sold every summer in the U.S. are toasted over a fire.
Toasted marshmallow ice cream is similar to s’mores, an over-the-campfire treat created by the Girl Scouts, but in frozen form. If a milkshake is more your dessert style, try mixing freshly roasted marshmallows into a milkshake made with vanilla or chocolate ice cream. The smoky flavor combined with the sweetness will bring great satisfaction.
Cranberry ice cream, another Thanksgiving favorite, can easily satisfy a sweet tooth. It features fresh, tart cranberries mixed with sugar and cream. Native Americans harvested wild cranberries and used them in remedies, foods and drinks. Commercial cranberry cultivation began in the U.S. in 1816. A Revolutionary war veteran was the first person to successfully cultivate the fruit after he found a cranberry vine growing in sand on Cape Cod.
Sweet potato pie originated in the southern United States and was popular in the African American community. Recipes for the pie first appeared in printed cookbooks in the 18th century, and the pie was classified a dessert by the 19th century. Today, the treat is featured in ice cream too.
Popular Thanksgiving Pies
Pumpkin pie is an annual Thanksgiving favorite, along with apple, pecan, sweet potato, blueberry and cherry. The New England states of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island prefer blueberry pie for dessert. Pecan is popular in the south, while apple pie tops the charts in the mid-atlantic, Connecticut and Nebraska. Pumpkin pie is gobbled up the most in the western United States while cherry is the clear favorite in the midwest. Sweet potato pie is a big deal in Georgia.
Let Us Serve You Dessert
If you want a special ice cream treat Norwood Ice Cream and Candy Company is here to serve you!
We are a small ice cream shop, located in Eldersburg, Maryland. Each unique ice cream flavor is handcrafted in small batches right in our store. Try out our fall flavors,too! We cater weddings, parties, special celebrations, corporate events and more. Drop by for a visit, or call us at 410-875-7238 for more information.