One of the most popular desserts in America, the Banana Split was invented by David Evans Strickler, a 23-year-old apprentice pharmacist at Tassel Pharmacy in Latrobe, Pennsylvania (also famous as the birthplace of Rolling Rock beer) in 1904. Strickler created his Banana Split with three scoops of ice cream (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry) on a halved banana topped off with chocolate, marshmallow, nuts, whipped cream, and a cherry (he also commissioned a local glass company to create a long, narrow dish to accommodate a banana). The price for the Banana Split triple sundae was 10 cents, twice the price of other sundaes, but it immediately became popular with students of Saint Vincent College. News of the sundae spread regionally and Strickler eventually bought the pharmacy, renaming it Strickler’s Pharmacy.
Wilmington, Ohio also claims their city as the birthplace of the Banana Split. In 1907, restaurant owner Ernest Hazard staged an employee contest to create a new sundae to attract students from nearby Wilmington College. Employee creativity was low and Hazard ended up splitting a banana lengthwise and piling ice cream on top with whipped cream, sliced strawberries, crushed nuts, shaved chocolate, and a maraschino cherry. Wilmington celebrates Hazard’s concoction every June with a Banana Split Festival.
Much credit for the national popularity of the Banana Split goes to Walgreen’s drug stores. Founder Charles Rudolph Walgreen adopted the Banana Split as the chain’s signature dessert in the late 1920’s.
Traditional Banana Split Recipe:
1/2 cup scoop vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup scoop chocolate ice cream
1/2 cup scoop strawberry ice cream
1 large ripe banana
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup (or Hot Fudge)
2 tablespoons strawberry ice cream topping (or fresh strawberries)
2 tablespoons crushed pineapple
2 tablespoons wet walnut ice cream topping
whipped cream
cherries
