The Selkirk
Pour two tablespoonfuls of mint syrup over a ladleful of vanilla or strawberry ice cream. Decorate with a sprig of mint.
A two-ingredient fountain sundae that depends entirely on the quality of the syrup, since there is nothing else to hide behind.
- A ladlefulFountain ladles of the period were small, on the order of a couple of fluid ounces, so figure a single generous scoop, about 1/3 cup.
- Mint syrupThe commercial fountain product was a sweetened green peppermint syrup with no alcohol in it, essentially non-alcoholic crème de menthe. Modern bottled mint syrups meant for coffee are thinner and often carry vanilla notes; taste before committing two tablespoons.
- Making your ownSimmer equal weights sugar and water until dissolved, take it off the heat, steep a large handful of bruised mint leaves 20 to 30 minutes, then strain. Long boiling with the leaves in turns the flavor grassy and dulls the color.
- Peppermint or spearmintPeppermint gives a sharp candy-cane note; spearmint reads softer and pairs better with the strawberry option. The recipe specifies only 'mint syrup'.
- TemperatureFountain ice cream was held softer than freezer-hard supermarket pints. Let the ice cream stand three or four minutes so the syrup runs over it instead of sliding off a frozen shell.
- The garnishSlap the mint sprig once between your palms before setting it on top. It releases the oils and makes the aroma match the flavor; an unbruised sprig is only decoration.
- YieldOne sundae.
This comes from a book of soda fountain and household drink recipes of the sort published while American temperance agitation was building toward national Prohibition. Books like it gave druggists and hostesses a repertoire of syrups, phosphates, sundaes and punches meant to occupy the social ground that mixed drinks had held, which is why so many of their formulas echo bar recipes without the spirits: a mint syrup sundae stands in for the julep the way grape juice punch stood in for claret cup. Fountain sundaes were routinely given proper-noun names, often after places, hotels, resorts or public figures, and the practice was more marketing than genealogy; no particular origin for the name Selkirk is documented here.