Burger King's Bacon Sundae--It's No Joke

To quiet the public outcry demanding a cold, delicious, and novel summer treat, Burger King has created the bacon sundae, and the news media have been making sure that we all hear about it. I didn't want Shelf Life Advice visitors to say, "Yuck!" without even giving this revolutionary item a try; on the other hand, $2.49 is a lot for our readers to spend on an item that could wind up melting its way to near-nonexistence in a Burger King garbage can. Therefore, I decided that my husband and I should do a trial tasting for you.  Below are the unabridged results.

Never before have I known my husband to reject my suggestion of a summer evening excursion for ice cream.  But, one recent evening, when I suggested going to Burger King for a bacon sundae, he politely declined.  So, the next day, I ventured out alone. I walked into Burger King, pointed to the rather small picture of this new and exciting taste sensation, and clearly proclaimed my desire for a bacon sundae.

The man behind the counter said, "A bacon sundae?"

"Yes," I said.  "A bacon sundae."

"A bacon sundae?" he repeated.

"Right," I said.  "Do you get a lot of orders for these?"

"Oh, yes," he told me.  But he didn't know how to punch in the order, and he had to consult the posted menu to get the price.  I wondered if I was the first of those many orders he implied.

I think the chefs in the kitchen were equally unfamiliar with this product. A bit slowly for fast food, my order was filled.  I was handed a rather small covered plastic container. It contained chocolate sauce on the bottom, topped with soft-serve vanilla ice cream (or a reasonable facsimile thereof), topped with many pieces of bacon, topped with caramel sauce.

Quickly, before it started to melt, I took its picture with my iPad.  (See photo.)  Then I unwrapped my plastic spoon and dug in. On that day, when the thermometer in Chicago read 96°F, something cold and salty fit the bill.  To my amazement, I liked this crunchy ice cream I had to chew. It wasn't as scrumptious as a traditional hot fudge sundae, but it wasn't bad.

I ate half of it, put the lid back on, and brought the remainder home for my husband to try.  I handed it to him and left the room.  When I returned, he was scraping the bottom of the container with relish (no, not edible relish; with enjoyment and enthusiasm).  "So you liked it," I said.

"Not bad, "he admitted," once I took off most of the bacon."   That's the good news--if you don't like the bacon, you can remove it; it doesn't contaminate the ice cream flavor.

Now I'm sure you have two questions in mind:  1) Is the Burger King bacon sundae made with real ice cream?  The answer is I don't know.  It's not identified as such.  2) How many calories in the BK bacon sundae? I couldn't find the answer on the Burger King website, and, on other online sources, I've seen figures ranging from the mid 400s to 510 (the latter according to the Associated Press).  This modestly-sized item also contains 18 grams of fat and 61 grams of sugar. My advice: share the sundae with someone, and don't eat one every day. 

Burger King can't take all the credit for originating the bacon-ice cream combo.  According to Wikipedia, it was invented, as a joke, by a British TV show in 1973.  Since then, the combo has resurfaced in many years and places.  (To get the whole story including the reference to gravy ice cream, click here.)  Furthermore, Denny's was a year ahead of Burger King with its bacon maple sundae.  

Having grown up in a household where each dinner of the week was tied to specific foods, I have nothing but praise for variety in edibles.  But I don't go for salted chocolate bars, and I'm not eager to try a deep-fried Snickers bar or a fried pickle. However, if you want to surprise your friends with homemade deep fried Snickers, fried pickles, or (of course) bacon ice cream, Google can guide you to recipes. 

Shelf Life Advice welcomes your comments on the bacon sundae, other weird ice cream dishes, or odd food combinations or preparations in general.  Let's hear it for (or against) novelty.

Source(s):

Wikipwedia "Bacon ice cream" 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacon_ice_cream

mercurynews.com (from Associated Press) "Bacon and ice cream, together at last: Burger King to offer bacon sundae"

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_20840399/bacon-and-ice-cream-together-at-last-burger

isidenova.com "Marsha Mercer: "Ice cream that brings home to [sic] bacon"

http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2012/jun/17/marsha-mercer-ice-cream-brings-home-bacon-ar-1994133/

food.com "Deep Fried Snickers"

http://deep-fried.food.com/recipe/deep-fried-snickers-70068

cooks.com "Fried Pickles"

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,fried_pickles,FF.html