On monday Irvine Robbins, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins whose penchant for creating unusual ice-cream flavors helped push post-World War II America far beyond its chocolate-vanilla-strawberry tastes, died. He was 90.
After getting out of the Army in 1945, he soon opened the Snowbird Ice Cream store in Glendale. Cashing in an insurance policy that his father had given him for his bar mitzvah, he came up with $6,000 to start the business.
"There was really no such thing anyplace as a pure ice cream store," Robbins told The Times in 1985. "I just had the crazy idea that somebody ought to open a store that sold . . . nothing but ice cream, and could do it in an outstanding way."
Baskin, who was married to Robbins' sister Shirley, also had recently returned from serving in the military in World War II. In early 1946, he opened Burton's Ice Cream in Pasadena.
By 1948, the five Snowbird and three Burton's shops had been combined into a single enterprise, and they had devised their 31st flavor -- Chocolate Mint.
In 1953, they renamed the company Baskin-Robbins, deciding the order of their names with a coin toss. The "31 flavors" concept was introduced that same year to bring attention to a deep menu that featured a flavor for every day of the month.
Fun Facts:
-At the height of Beatlemania, just before the Beatles' first U.S. tour, a reporter from The Washington Post called Irv Robbins and asked what new flavor would honor the Beatles. The truth was, Baskin-Robbins had not invented a Beatles flavor. Caught unprepared, Mr. Robbins replied, "Uh, Beatle Nut, of course." It was created, manufactured and delivered in just five days.
-Famous former Baskin-Robbins scoopers include presidential candidate and Illinois Senator Barack Obama, TV hosts Leeza Gibbons and Rosie O’Donnell, Chef Bobby Flay, actresses Julia Roberts, Taryn Manning and Chandra Wilson, actors Eric Dane and Randy Quaid and New York Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes.
-Sean “Diddy” Combs got his first break by starring in a Baskin-Robbins® commercial at the age of two.
Burt also owned a 1931 Rolls Royce Phantom II, the world’s first 100 mph passenger car.
My father loves ice cream. Growing up we had an old ice cream maker at home that we often used.
My father remembers when the first Baskin-Robins came to Savannah, Ga. He said, as a child, walking into it was amazing! He also recalled ALL the flavors they had. Up until then he said he had only eaten vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream. If you got really fancy sometimes they were mixed!
His all time favorite is Rocky road.
Rocky road ice cream is a chocolate flavor, recently ranked tenth in popularity in the United States. Though there are variations on the flavor, it is traditionally composed of chocolate ice cream, nuts and marshmallows. The flavor is claimed to have been created in March 1929 by William Dreyer when he cut up almonds and marshmallows with his wife's sewing scissors and added them to his chocolate ice cream during the Great Depression. The company claims it was then so named "to give folks something to smile about in the midst of the Great Depression."
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE ICE CREAM!
What you'll need:
2 clean metal cans, both with lids (make one can larger than the second)
Use the ice cream recipe already given in Ice Cream in a Bag or:
1 cup of very cold milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbs chocolate syrup
Ice
Salt
How to make it:
Place the ice cream mixture in the smaller coffee can (make sure it's clean) and seal with the lid on tightly.
Place the smaller can in the larger can. Pour the ice and salt around the smaller can making sure it is more or less in the center.
Seal the larger can with its lid tightly and roll it around for about a half hour. This process works great if you have kids. Let them sit on the floor and roll the can between them. When it's done you'll have a nice container to keep the ice cream in!
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