What Is The Actual Flavor Of Tin Roof Ice Cream?

There are three kinds of ice cream flavors: the first kind is named so that you know exactly what to expect when you take a lick or spoonful. Think chocolate fudge, strawberry, or coffee (which surprisingly contains plenty of caffeine). The second type are the ice creams that have curious names but are so popular that most people know exactly what's in them. An example would be Rocky Road, which gives no hints as to its contents, but everyone knows it's chocolate ice cream with marshmallows and crunchy nuts. And then there are the ice cream flavors that make many go, "huh?" Case in point: tin roof ice cream.

If you ever spot tin roof ice cream in the grocery store or at an ice cream shop, you can expect vanilla ice cream with chocolate or fudge swirls and chocolate-covered peanuts. The combination is pretty delicious — a classic blend of vanilla and chocolate flavors and a nutty, salty crunch from the nuts. Several major ice cream brands offer or have offered the flavor including Blue Bell (which didn't originally make ice cream), Turkey Hill, Baskin-Robbins, and Breyers. What's interesting is that this particular ice cream flavor was inspired by a creative ice cream sundae created in a tiny Nebraska town, inside a soda shop with a tin roof.

Potter, Nebraska is home to approximately 300 people, and The Potter Drug Co., which opened in 1916. James Earl Thayer originally owned the pharmacy and soda shop and lived with his family on the floor above it. By the time the 1930s rolled around, Thayer's son, Harold Dean "Pinky" was working at the soda fountain and ice cream counter. As a young man with lots of ice creams, syrups, and sweets at his fingertips, Pinky liked to experiment and it was one of these experiments that became known as the tin roof sundae, named so because of the tin ceiling tiles that adorn the shop, which are still present today.

In a tall sundae glass, Pinky layered vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and chocolate ice cream. A generous pour of marshmallow creme went on top followed by a handful of Spanish peanuts. The townsfolk loved it and, in the ensuing years, through multiple owners, the tin roof sundae became a staple of the tiny shop. Slowly but surely, word of the unique sundae spread until the Potter Sundry (as it's now called) became somewhat of a tourist destination. 

As its popularity increased, ice cream makers and companies began transforming the flavors of the sundae into a flavor of ice cream, although, we're not sure how the marshmallow creme got left on the cutting room floor. Of course, if you create your own tin roof ice cream at home, feel free to make a batch of marshmallow fluff and swirl or pour on as much as your tastebuds can handle.