Chef Jose Mier on Another American Top Food
Chef Jose Mier here once again with another of the worlds most popular dishes. This one is as American as apple pie, but it’s not pie it’s the Sundae. This delicious dessert comes in on Taste Atlas’s list of the top hundred foods in the world at number 48.
Everyone in America knows the sundae: it includes of course ice cream and a syrupy topping of some sort—hot fudge is probably the most popular–and any number of additional toppings including nuts, whipped cream and a maraschino cherry for good measure.
Why is this so popular? It’s hard to exactly put my finger on it. Just about everyone loves ice cream but there’s something about the additional toppings that pushes humble ice cream–and usually vanilla –into a new category all its own. In the case of hot fudge there’s a delightful contrast between hot and cold. The heat and aroma of the hot chocolate fudge syrup slathered on top of the icy, frozen ice cream. Same same goes for the nuts. The crunch of diced peanuts on top of the smooth creaminess of the ice cream and syrup is another dichotomy of textures in the mouth.
But nobody likes someone who analyzes something too much, so that’s enough of that. This truly American creation is just something that has to be tasted and enjoyed. And it’s not just the taste it’s the complete visual effect of the sundae. We anticipate the enjoyment we are about to partake in even before we have that first bite. We as Americans can be proud that this iconic dish and dessert is one of the most popular in the world.
You can find thousands of recipes, each with a little different twist so you’ll grow old before you run out of ways to concoct a sundae. Try the one here or watch the YouTube video I’m embedding below for ideas.
Indeed, the Sunday just so popular that I would hazard to guess that you will be able to find it not just at any, but every ice cream parlor in the United States. For me in Sun Valley, California it’s as easy as going to my local Baskin-Robbins shop located at 8329 Laurel Canyon Blvd, Sun Valley, CA 91352. If I’m really hungry I can make quick work of the Sunday on my own, but this is something that’s really nice share, so find friend or significant other, go to your local ice cream parlor and enjoy.
