The Key To Making The Best Root Beer Float Might Surprise You
The beauty of a root beer float lies in its simplicity. Few desserts can boast that it just takes two ingredients to achieve perfection, and the root beer float is one of them. A little bit of root beer and a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream, and you are in business. According to PopSugar, we have our progenitors from Colorado to thank for this creamy carbonated dessert beverage, and it's a tale worth pulling up a barstool and sipping on a float while you read.
Frank Wisner, who owned the Cripple Creek Cow Mountain Gold Mining Company, gets the credit for this float. As the legend goes, it was a summer eve in 1893, when Wisner was gazing upon the Cow Mountains covered in snow, reminding him of scoops of vanilla ice cream. The image must have stuck with him because the next morning he had a hankering for vanilla ice cream scooped into a glass with the root beer du jour, Myers Avenue Red Root Beer, poured over it. The drink was dubbed a "brown cow," and little did Wisner know how this drink would become embedded in American culture. Today, the root beer float is just as delicious as it was then, and the recipe hasn't changed, because if it's not broke, why fix it, right? But did you know there's a secret to making the best root beer float that's not listed in the ingredients. It's such a small detail, but with a big payoff.
Chill the glasses
This sweet beverage is still for the minimalist and requires just two scoops of ice cream and some root beer, per Simply Recipes. We love this fizzy, foamy dessert that keeps us sucking on our straw. According to Sugar and Soul, if you are going to make a root beer float, you need to start with a tall glass or mug. But here is the real key to making the best root beer float: Chill the glasses for 10-20 minutes in the freezer before you make your floats, and the frosty glass just makes it taste twice as good. Maybe it's psychological, or maybe that cool glass is really a game changer, but you can definitely detect an enjoyable difference.
Additionally, if you are not a fan of the fizz, they suggest pouring it at an angle like you would a beer. What about all that foam? Wonderopolis explains that when the root beer hits the ice cream, carbon dioxide is released while the fat from the ice cream covers the bubbles and causes that delicious foam. Sugar and Soul says if you really want to be adventurous, you can top off your root bear float with some whipped cream and a cherry.