INSIDE SCOOP

For almost as long as I’ve been alive, there has been an Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. Celebrated on the first Saturday of February, this year we will enjoy our frosty delights on Saturday, February 7, the 60th annual to be specific.

Rochester, New York suffers some pretty dismal winter weather. Florence J. Rappaport of Rochester, New York, mother of six, two of which had winter cabin fever – Ruth and Joe – and was looking for a fun distraction to the snow and ice during the blizzard of 1966. And on that snowy, bleak Saturday,  February 1st, Florence scooped out some ice cream into their cereal bowls, delighting them with the very first ice cream for breakfast. Apparently, sweets such as ice cream and soda pop were rarely eaten in their household, so this was truly a special treat. Ruth and Joe spread the word about their mom’s innovative and much appreciated Ice Cream for Breakfast to friends and other, probably very jealous, young relatives, who told two more who told two more and so on and so on. 

Liba Kornfeld, who resides in Riverdale, is the granddaughter of the holiday’s founder and said, ‘There is so much bad in the world, and this is just a fun, good thing!’ She describes the harsh winters upstate in the 1960s and after a particularly snowy January, the first Saturday in February her grandmother offered the two youngest ice cream for breakfast. From that day, they requested it each year ( I would hesitate a guess that it was more often than that).

She said that her mother, five siblings and their families took this tradition around the world. Her cousin lives in Shanghai and hosts an ice cream party each year. Her uncle in New York invites his guests to come up with creative names for their sundaes. She is very proud to be the granddaughter of the creator of this holiday. She is currently a fifth grade teacher and honors her grandmother by teaching her students about the holiday. Her students celebrate the Friday before, as there is no halachas (Jewish law or rule) so you can celebrate a day before or two weeks after, as long as it brings you joy – and ice cream – which would make Florence very happy, too.

That is why, if you happen to be in Brooklyn or Lawrence, Kansas, Albuquerque or Key West, Shanghai or Jerusalem, on the first Saturday in February you will find young and old eating ice cream for breakfast.

Since this wonderful tradition got its beginning in Rochester, let’s visit one of the shops that embraces this great day, just a few miles outside of Rochester – Moonlight Creamery. Now entering their 20th year in business, Moonlight is the brainchild of Heidi Grenek and Jeff Seidel. Heidi, while mowing her large lawn, thought about a ‘different’ kind of ice cream shop, one which would offer as amazing an experience as the home-churned ice cream, and give back to the community, and its location. Coincidentally, Joe Seidel, her neighbor, was putting the finishing touches on a new building in the village of Fairport, NY. When Heidi ran into Jeff on the sidewalk in front of their homes, she shared her thought, Jeff was on the same page, and a solid plan was formed. After a trip to Cornell University Dairy, they gleaned the information necessary, and so much more, to bring the idea to fruition. Today, the reigns have been taken over by Mikee Spencer, a long-term, dedicated employee, show is now realizing his own entrepreneurial dream. 

The options of Moonlight Creamery’s handcrafted flavors are enormous – from their signature flavors like Espresso with English Toffee and Wicked Chocolate, the imagination of Harry, chief artisan ice cream chef (and Head Meanie) see no boundaries; just to mention a few which caught my eye and made my mouth water: Berbere - popular in the Horn of Africa, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia, Berbere is a complex blend of chile peppers, black pepper, fenugreek, ginger, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, ajwain, cumin, allspice, nutmeg, and paprika; Maui Wowie Sorbet: straight from Hawaii - Pineapple, Coconut and Banana Sorbet; Norwegian Krokan: Rich, browned butter ice cream with chunks of salty almond brittle. Krokan (caramelized sugar with butter and almonds) is a common Norwegian dessert and is said to have been the favorite dessert of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory author Roald Dahl.

But we’re here to talk about Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, which is embraced at Moonlight Creamery and benefits Holy Childhood, a facility which serves to educate all ages with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Of course, they will have their 24 available flavors which include, what I would think, are just perfect for this day: Uncle Jimmy’s Secret Breakfast: Bourbon infused ice cream with cornflake cookies to warm you from the inside out; To Sow My Wild Oats: Sweet brown sugar and wholesome whole grain oats; and Panforte: A traditional Tuscan dessert, a cinnamon, honey, nutmeg and clove ice cream with candied oranges and toasted almonds. Documents from 1205 show panforte used as a form of tax payment due to the local monastery on February 7th – which happens to be the day Ice Cream for Breakfast is celebrated in 2026. In addition, on tap will be Breakfast-themed flavors, donut ice cream sandwiches, waffle sundaes and more!

If you happen to be in the Fairport, NY area on Saturday, Feb. 7 I would highly recommend heading to Moonlight Creamery to start your day with a smile – Florence Rappaport will be smiling down on you too. Honestly, anytime you are in Fairport, NY would be a great time to indulge in, what sounds like, some of the finest ice cream around.