Ice cream topping [Archive] - CookingLight.com Community

AndreaU

09-10-2003, 04:09 PM

OK, here we go again... beejayw1 was inspired by MsChevious's thread and I've been inspired by both of them.

I understand the answers to this question will most likely vary regionally.

What do you call the chocolate or rainbow colored toppings you put on ice cream??

I've always called them "sprinkles" but I've heard some people call them "jimmies." Or do you have a name for them other than those? I'm curious to know what else is out there.

tbb113

09-10-2003, 04:11 PM

I'm an other. Growing up in the Chicago area they were jimmies...out here in CA they are sprinkles, so depending on my mood or mindset I call them both.

Svadhisthana

09-10-2003, 04:16 PM

I call the chocolate ones jimmies and the rainbow ones sprinkles.

kwormann

09-10-2003, 04:20 PM

Ive only heard them called sprinkles...except for the first episode of Friends......

magdon

09-10-2003, 04:22 PM

Raised in California-- they are sprinkles. Personally, I have little use for the colored ones. Bring on the chocolate!

wallycat

09-10-2003, 04:35 PM

I've never used either/or....my mom never baked so I don't call them anything :(

LaraW

09-10-2003, 04:39 PM

Originally posted by wallycat
I've never used either/or....my mom never baked so I don't call them anything :(

poor wallycat! What a deprived child! I think you should go out and get some sprinkles for your ice cream :)

aggie94

09-10-2003, 04:48 PM

Sprinkles. Before today, if someone had asked me whether I wanted jimmies on my ice cream, I would have looked at them like they were crazy. :o

badunnin

09-10-2003, 04:49 PM

Midwestern girl checking in with a vote for jimmies!

Pico

09-10-2003, 04:56 PM

I think I call them both. :)

eas11

09-10-2003, 05:07 PM

I've now officially lived half my life in NY (SPRINKLES)
and half my life in Boston (JIMMIES)

I go with SPRINKLES though, cause thats what they do/are. Jimmies is a stupid name :p

syzygy

09-10-2003, 05:30 PM

Originally posted by eas11
I've now officially lived half my life in NY (SPRINKLES)
and half my life in Boston (JIMMIES)

I go with SPRINKLES though, cause thats what they do/are. Jimmies is a stupid name :p

I've now officially lived longer in Boston than NJ, but do agree -- where the heck did the term "jimmies" come from?

Funny story, tho' -- my kids were born and grew up in MA, and even though we travel to NJ quite frequently, I guess the "jimmies/sprinkles" thing never came up. When my daughter was 14, she went to a summer camp in NY. They did a day trip to the City (NYC, for those of you not from NJ ;) ) and stopped at an ice cream stand. She asked for a cone with jimmies, and said everyone looked at her like she had 2 heads. They had no idea what she was talking about, and she had no idea why they didn't know. I told her afterward I guess I failed my motherly duty by not explaining the facts of ice cream life to her...:o

colleency

09-10-2003, 05:36 PM

If they're chocolate, I call them jimmies. If they're rainbow, I call them sprinkles. But I NEVER put them on MY ice cream. They're all for DH, because I love him so very much. And because I don't like sprinkles OR jimmies.

Ms. Chevious

09-10-2003, 05:45 PM

Originally posted by syzygy
...where the heck did the term "jimmies" come from?

Here's your answer:

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/6548594.htm

valchemist

09-10-2003, 05:55 PM

jimmies

Melman

09-10-2003, 07:07 PM

I chose other - I also think of the chocolate ones as jimmies and the rainbow ones as sprinkles.

HRJ

09-10-2003, 08:23 PM

Originally posted by eas11

I go with SPRINKLES though, cause thats what they do/are. Jimmies is a stupid name :p

You got that right, girlfriend!

Here's a question for the Midwesterners -- when I was visiting my friend in Cincinnati, we got ice cream at United Dairy Farmers, and they asked me if I wanted "shots" on my ice cream. (that's apparently the Cincinnati term for sprinkles). Has anyone else ever heard of that?

BTW -- I thought they were asking me if I wanted a shot with my ice cream -- as in a shot of liquor. I kept saying, "What? A shot? What?" :confused: until my friend (originally from Brooklyn) whispered in my ear, "Sprinkles!"

Helene

fci5767

09-10-2003, 08:27 PM

I voted other. We called them jimmies in Philly growing up but I haven't heard the term since. I'm not sure why people like them, though. They are pretty gross (IMO)

Beth

slknight

09-10-2003, 08:29 PM

Jimmies!

Here's another link about the origin:
http://www.brighams.com/ice_cream/facts.asp

Gail

09-10-2003, 09:30 PM

Sprinkles.

Just as a point of interest, I've got an e-mail from Shirley Ekstein which refers to them as "hundreds and thousands."

Should I-- on behalf of Shirley-- cast another vote, choosing "other?"

MKSquared

09-10-2003, 09:32 PM

Cincinnati people are weird. ;) Chili on spaghetti, shots on ice cream ... but yes, I've heard some Cinti people say that.

I never heard of jimmies until I came to Columbus. Growing up in Cleveland, I called them sprinkles. Still do. Don't like 'em, so I know what to call them when I ask to keep them off. :)

Beth

09-10-2003, 09:59 PM

We call them sprinkles, but when I hear jimmies, I think only of the long, narrow chocoalte ones for some reason. Sprinkles is more generic, I suppose.

Beth

09-10-2003, 09:59 PM

Or I guess I could say other and call them M&Ms. :D

beejayw1

09-11-2003, 06:15 AM

...although if there aren't any children in the car that might get corrupted, I have been known to call them 'Mouse pooh'! ;)

Tell Shirley that my grandmother, of Alsatien and German descent, raised in North Dakota, married and lived in Vermont, called them 'hundreds and thousands', too, but the term referred to little, flat, tiny wafers of sugar.

Here are 'hundreds and thousands' (per Grandma):
http://thepartyworks.com/shop/images/23pastel.jpg

And here are green jimmies:
http://thepartyworks.com/shop/images/23grnjim.jpg

HejazSunKat

09-11-2003, 06:26 AM

Originally posted by Gail
Just as a point of interest, I've got an e-mail from Shirley Ekstein which refers to them as "hundreds and thousands."

I think those might actually be something different. I was looking to decorate cupcakes when I was in Saudi and found these mini, candy-ish, multi-colored things in the store. Somebody at the office (an Indian woman married to a Brit) referred to them as 'hundreds and thousands'. I know a Jimmie when I see one and they were definitely NOT Jimmies :D

KristinK

09-11-2003, 09:22 AM

From the article Val posted:
This region - from Philadelphia to the Jersey Shore - historically has been jimmies territory.
And they'll always be jimmies to me :)

Actually, in high school, I tried to force myself to call them sprinkles to fit in (what a silly, silly little girl!) - only because I went to school in Delaware, where they call them sprinkles because they don't know any better!

gertdog

09-11-2003, 09:34 AM

Sprinkles (grew up in CA)...

At our favorite ice cream shop here in NJ, there is a sign at the cash register that says "Sprinkles are free for the young and the young at heart." I always say yes to sprinkles. :)

jphilg

09-11-2003, 09:44 AM

I haven't eaten the aforementioned for YEARS but right now I am jonesing for a chocolate soft serve cone with JIMMIES!

(I grew up outside of Boston....and my mom was, many, many moons ago, some sort of personel manager at Brigham's, which is definitely a jimmies joint)

Shirley Panek

09-11-2003, 09:47 AM

Sprinkles - both the rainbow and chocolate. :)

JHolcomb

09-11-2003, 10:04 AM

'round here, a Jimmie is slang for a condom. SO I about fell out of my chair when one of my dorm-mates mentioned putting Jimmies on her ice cream.

We call 'em sprinkles (rainbow ones are just sprinkles, "chocolate" ones are chocolate sprinkles), but they're nasty whatever you call them.

aggie94

09-11-2003, 10:12 AM

Okay, so I was telling DH and BIL about this thread last night to get their feedback.

Me: "There was this poll on the BB today about the candied things that you put on your ice cream."

BIL: "Jimmies?"

Me: "YEAH! That was the poll. Are they jimmies or sprinkles?"

BIL (and Nephew): "Jimmies!"

DH: "The longer skinny ones are jimmies. And the tiny little dots are sprinkles."

BIL: "The colored ones are jimmies. The chocolate ones are chocolate jimmies." :D

:rolleyes: I hadn't heard of jimmies before yesterday. And frankly, I'm surprised DH had. But their collective vote is apparently for jimmies if you're talking about the longer skinny things. If you're talking about the tiny dots, their vote is for sprinkles. :p

little_bopeep

09-11-2003, 10:14 AM

Originally posted by LaraW

poor wallycat! What a deprived child! I think you should go out and get some sprinkles for your ice cream :)

Or some jimmies. :D :D :D

Jill123

09-11-2003, 10:17 AM

Originally posted by JHolcomb
'round here, a Jimmie is slang for a condom. SO I about fell out of my chair when one of my dorm-mates mentioned putting Jimmies on her ice cream.

Same here. I was raised in Kansas, and I'd never heard of sprinkles being called Jimmies until I became a "foodie." So, I'm not sure the use of "Jimmies" is necessarily a Midwestern thing. (It doesn't GET more Midwestern than Kansas!! ;))

Beth

09-11-2003, 10:51 AM

Originally posted by beejayw1
...although if there aren't any children in the car that might get corrupted, I have been known to call them 'Mouse pooh'! ;)

LOL! This is a new favorite. :D

BarbaraL

09-11-2003, 11:00 AM

Born and raised in NJ, and I grew up calling them "jimmies". Sprinkles seems to be the more common term now, but even if I call them "sprinkles" I'm thinking "jimmies". Maybe it has something to do with the cute "Jimmy" in my 6th grade class . . .

tamawrite

09-11-2003, 12:01 PM

Jimmies??? Never heard that one. They're sprinkles, of course! ;) :D

Gail

09-11-2003, 12:59 PM

Originally posted by HejazSunKat

I think those might actually be something different. I was looking to decorate cupcakes when I was in Saudi and found these mini, candy-ish, multi-colored things in the store. Somebody at the office (an Indian woman married to a Brit) referred to them as 'hundreds and thousands'. I know a Jimmie when I see one and they were definitely NOT Jimmies :D

Interesting. Her description of them was more or less tiny colored sugar strands. Will have to see if I can get her to peek at the photos posted for a first-hand response.

Where are our other foreign posters? Would be interested in knowing what THEY call these things, assuming they have them...

greysangel

09-11-2003, 01:02 PM

Rhode Island gal chiming in with jimmies :D

j

MrsReber

09-11-2003, 01:06 PM

Originally posted by BarbaraL
Born and raised in NJ, and I grew up calling them "jimmies". Sprinkles seems to be the more common term now, but even if I call them "sprinkles" I'm thinking "jimmies". Maybe it has something to do with the cute "Jimmy" in my 6th grade class . . .

Now, I find this really interesting. I was born in Staten Island, but moved to NJ when I was three (with my family, of course). I never heard of Jimmies until I was much older (late teens). We AlWAYS called them sprinkles.

Gilgamesh37

09-11-2003, 01:07 PM

Well of course they're jimmies! Honestly, where DO you people get these bizarre ideas??!!?! (said the Connecticut-raised gal)

For the record, my Scottish ex-husband did used to call them Hundreds and Thousands--and he also thought "jimmies" was a stupid name. ("Jimmies? What the *#&* does that mean? Sounds like some punter trodding all over me ice cream!")

MrsReber

09-11-2003, 01:27 PM

Gilgamesh, thanks for the first real laugh I've had all day!

syzygy

09-11-2003, 03:15 PM

Originally posted by MrsReber

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by BarbaraL
Born and raised in NJ, and I grew up calling them "jimmies". Sprinkles seems to be the more common term now, but even if I call them "sprinkles" I'm thinking "jimmies". Maybe it has something to do with the cute "Jimmy" in my 6th grade class . . .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, I find this really interesting. I was born in Staten Island, but moved to NJ when I was three (with my family, of course). I never heard of Jimmies until I was much older (late teens). We AlWAYS called them sprinkles.

I find that interesting too, since I was also born and raised in NJ and never heard of "jimmies" till I moved to the Boston area after I got married.

fci5767

09-11-2003, 03:29 PM

Originally posted by Jill123

Same here. I was raised in Kansas, and I'd never heard of sprinkles being called Jimmies until I became a "foodie." So, I'm not sure the use of "Jimmies" is necessarily a Midwestern thing. (It doesn't GET more Midwestern than Kansas!! ;))

Do foodies eat jimmies :D

Cherise

09-11-2003, 04:02 PM

I voted other....my family always called them jimmies, but they were never an ice cream topping! These were mostly used for decorating the tops of cakes, cupcakes or fancy cookies. I guess that I have seen them offered at dessert bars as a topping, but I have never thought of that as being their primary use.

AmyO26

09-11-2003, 04:05 PM

Sprinkles! I worked at the ice cream stand of a local amusement park when I was in college, and a little boy asked for "jimmies" on his cone. Of course I had no idea what he was talking about...he had to explain what they were.

Shirley Ekstein

09-12-2003, 12:00 PM

Jeez - it's just taken me 10 minutes to log back in. Guess is maybe because I haven't posted here for ages - not that you're not all madly interesting - is just lack of time.
Anyway - got pointed to this thread by Gail, and would add that what we in England call hundred and thousands - tiny sugar strands that are sprinkled (!) on top of cakes and trifles and stuff to decorate them - are absolutely not what Beejayw1 has in her first picture. They're more like the second picture - those green alien thingies - but ours are finer and are multi-coloured.
And I would also add that any English cook with any taste and any pretensions to knowledge would not be seen dead sprinkling them on ANYTHING.

Shirley Ekstein

09-12-2003, 12:02 PM