Oyster ice cream is a flavor of ice cream with a savory taste. After being recorded in a 19th-century cookbook, then forgotten for the next two centuries, the ice cream flavor has been offered at a number of 21st-century oyster festivals. But, here's the thing: To the knowledge of the several culinary historians I spoke with, oyster ice cream never showed up in any other American cookbook ever again. What's more, no other authoritative records point to the popularity—or even the existence—of oyster ice cream.

Capehart was adamant on this point: "There would not have been any ice cream at the so-called 'first' Thanksgiving. There was no way to store/keep ice from the previous winter and there probably wouldn't have been any need or desire to have ice cream, as the early colonists at Plymouth had just watched half their number die off and New England late autumns weren't all that warm." Two varieties of oyster ice cream were featured at the Colchester Oyster Festival in Colchester, Essex, in September 2012. [7] "Oyster-and-ginger" ice cream was served at the 23rd Oyster Festival in Arcata Main Street in June 2013. [8] [9] See also [ edit ] Miley Theobald, Mary (Winter 2010). "Some Cold, Hard Historical Facts about Good Old Ice Cream". The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Contrary to various news reports in the 21st century, oyster ice cream was not served at the First Thanksgiving, nor was it a favorite of George Washington's, nor served in the White House by Dolley Madison, nor mentioned by Mark Twain in his novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. [3] 21st century [ edit ] Randolph, Mary (1824). The Virginia Housewife (1836ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: John Plaskitt. pp.16, 144 . Retrieved 5 April 2021.Roll the fondant out to fit a 6" panel. Panel the cake with the fondant, do not cut the excess paste off of the top yet. You'll do this after adding the top panel.

Place a sheet of rice paper into the water, making sure it's fully submerged. Let the paper soak for 20 seconds. Flip the paper over and and let it soak until softened. Place the top panel of the cake. Cut off the excess paste and smooth the fondant and seams with a fondant smoother. According to chef and restaurateur José Andrés, oyster ice cream is made by "gently heating oysters and cream", before freezing the product. [4] Food historian Robert Brantley describes the oyster ice cream of the 1800s as “[e]ssentially...frozen oyster chowder. They served it unsweetened." [5] Oyster ice cream has a savory flavor as opposed to a sweet one. [4] Lorraine Eaton of The Virginian-Pilot wrote that one of her colleagues at work "had nearly thrown up" after tasting Eaton's homemade oyster ice cream; others had favorable criticism for the ice cream flavor. [6] With the leftover marbled fondant from this panel, roll into a rope shape, then into a snail shape. Tear or shape the wafer sea foam into mid size pieces. You can attach the foam with piping gel or white chocolate and (optional) freeze spray as mentioned above. Attach the foam at the bases of the waves. This will cover the ends of the rice waves but also keep the design a bit more seamless. Overlap the foam pieces so that they don't look too separated. Think of it as trying to keep the design as seamless as possible.

Bottom line, Capehart said, is that "the first Thanksgiving" and all its trappings, is a late 19th-century invention. She said, "Most of what we learn in school is a myth! Besides, Jamestown in Virginia was the real first colony in the US. But that's a whole 'nother story." Rice paper is made out of tapioca starch, rice flour, and salt. It is the same rice paper that is used to make spring rolls. Rice paper is translucent and has a specific criss cross patter on it. To make it flexible for shaping, it needs to soak in water. Once soft, it can be shaped to make waves, sails and other decorations. Rice paper is fairly inexpensive and can be found in most grocery stores and online. What is Wafer Paper? Wafer paper is a starched based (usually potato starch) edible paper used in cake decorating. It has a very subtle flavor, mostly tasteless and can be eaten. It's seemingly similar to printer or copy paper in texture, but it can be manipulated to make cake decorations and edible flowers. It typically will not spoil, unless exposed to water or humidity, so it will keep for years in a zip top bag. Jump to: The primary focus to this cake is off to the right hand side. The waves should come off and away from the cake. I used 3 waves per tier.

A growing number of news stories has suggested that oyster ice cream is a blast from the past that we need to resurrect, especially on Thanksgiving. Mark Twain is said to have loved the stuff and to have referenced it in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Dolley Madison was reputed to have served it at the White House. George Washington allegedly couldn't get enough of the briny confection. Now you can even learn how to make oyster ice cream on YouTube. And none other than famed Chef José Andrés has featured the confection at his America Eats Tavern in Washington, DC—a restaurant billed as a "unique take on America's classic cuisine," which started out as a pop-up in conjunction with the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Google "oyster ice cream" and "Thanksgiving" and you'll get 1,700 results.To make the sea foam, you will need to pan fry the wafer paper. This technique causes the wafer paper to bubble, giving it a foamy appearance. Both the genuine mystery and historical revisionism of that first Thanksgiving has led to an unending quest to uncover authentic-but-little-known Thanksgiving dishes—which may actually explain why oyster ice cream has become a thing.