Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts Glossary

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE FOODS
Take A Look At All Of Our Food Glossaries

Snow Cone. Compacted shaved ice flavored with a choice of bright-colored sugary syrups, generally served in a paper cone or cup. The syrups are usually fruit-flavored (apple, banana, cantaloupe, cherry, colada, grape, kiwi, lemon, lime, mango, orange, peach, pineapple, raspberry, strawberry) but can also be spice (e.g. cinnamon) and pop flavors like bubblegum and cola. Snow cones served in a cup are eaten with a spoon; those in a paper cone are eaten like an ice cream cone. They are different from water ice in that water ice is flavored at the time of factory production, while snow cones are shaved and flavored “to order.” Interestingly, snow cones are the descendents of the original “ice cream,” which was snow flavored with fruit juice, created 4,000 years ago by the Chinese and learned through trade routes by the Persians 2,500 years ago. See the History Of Ice Cream.

Sorbet. A frozen dessert generally made from fruit purée or fruit juice; it can incorporate other flavorings including herbs and liqueurs. Sorbet is the French word; the Italian word is sorbetto. Unlike sherbet, sorbet technically contains no milk; however, in some regions of Italy (and in some U.S. recipes as well), milk or cream is used and and there is no separate word to distinguish it (so if you steer clear of milk products, read the label or ask the waiter). Some sorbet recipes also use egg whites. Whereas gelato traces its roots “only” as far back as Renaissance Italy, sorbet dates to ancient Roman times. In the first century C.E., Emperor Nero, who had a hankering for the cold, sweet stuff, had runners along the Appian Way pass buckets of snow from the mountains, hand over hand, until it reached his banquet hall, where it was mixed with honey and wine. Pre-dating Nero, the Chinese have made concoctions from snow, juice and fruit pulp for several thousand years.

Sugar Cone. The classic ice cream cone, differentiated from the cake cone (or wafer cone) by its pure conical shape, dark color, crunchiness and brown sugar flavor. Sugar cones can be found in chocolate as well (made by adding cocoa to the batter) and decorated—dipped in melted chocolate and/or garnished with chocolate chips, coconut, candies, coconut and other confections.

Sundae. A name invented in America (although exactly where is disputed—see The History Of Ice Cream) for a dish of one or more scoops of ice cream topped with sauce or syrup (generally butterscotch, caramel, chocolate, marshmallow creme or strawberry). Chopped nuts and whipped cream are generally added and a maraschino cherry is placed on top. There are endless variations on the sundae, incorporating fruit, cookies, candy, cake, peanut butter sauce, sprinkles/jimmies, and ingredients too numerous to list.

Sundae Cone. An ice cream  novelty. A scoop of ice cream, typically vanilla, is packed into a sugar cone, covered in chocolate and topped with chopped nuts.

Tartufo. The Italian word for truffle, a ball of vanilla ice cream, often with a cherry and nuts in the center, enrobed in chocolate. The first chocolate ganache tartufos were chocolate candies created just after the French revolution (1799) by French chefs, and were initially given as Christmas gifts. They were intended to resemble the precious Périgord truffles, hunted in forests. The ice cream version appeared around the Victorian era (1837-1901), when the molding of ice cream into flowers, fruits, and other shapes became popular.