Invention of ice cream soda

In the late 19th century, ice cream was widely available, through street vendors and at ice cream parlors.

The ice cream soda was invented by Robert McCay Green in Philadelphia, PA, in October 1874 during the sesquicentennial celebration of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

He wanted to create a something to attract customers away from another larger, fancier soda fountain down the street.

The story goes; on a particularly hot day, Mr. Green ran out of cold ice for the flavored drinks he was selling and used vanilla ice cream from a neighboring vendor.

He stumbled upon his ice cream soda idea while observing people enjoying ice cream with a glass of plain water at a local confectionery. After some experimenting, he decided to combine ice cream and soda water.

The customers gave their hearty approval to the new drink as evidenced by the fact that Green, who had been averaging $6 a day with the first drink, was taking in over $600 a day for ice cream sodas by the end of the exhibition.
Invention of ice cream soda

Invention of ice cream soda

An early reference to ice cream given by the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1744, reprinted in a magazine in 1877. The ice cream soda was invented by Robert McCay Green in Philadelphia, PA, in 1874 during the sesquicentennial celebration. In one, Green was a vendor at an exhibition in Philadelphia in 1874, serving sweet cream sodas to customers. The traditional story is that, on a particularly hot day, Mr. Green ran out of ice for the flavored sodas he was selling and came up with the idea to combine ice cream with soda water and flavoured syrups, thus inventing a new drink.

The customers gave their hearty approval to the new drink as evidenced by the fact that Green, who had been averaging $6 a day with the first drink, was taking in over $600 a day for ice cream sodas by the end of the exhibition.

His own account, published in Soda Fountain magazine in 1910, states that while operating a soda fountain at the Franklin Institute's semicentennial celebration in Philadelphia in 1874, he wanted to create a new treat to attract customers away from another vendor who had a fancier, bigger soda fountain.

After some experimenting, he decided to combine ice cream and soda water. During the celebration, he sold a combination of vanilla ice cream and soda water and a choice of 16 different flavored syrups.

The new treat was a sensation and soon other soda fountains began selling ice cream sodas. Technological innovations such as these have introduced various food additives into ice cream.
Invention of ice cream soda