National Ice Cream Sandwich Day
Today is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, and that gave me a good reason to revisit one of my favorite food photographs from last year.
The ice cream sandwich has been around for more than a century. Early versions were sold by New York City street vendors for just a penny, making them one of the first frozen treats that almost anyone could afford. More than a hundred years later, the recipe is still remarkably simple. Vanilla ice cream between two soft chocolate wafers. Sometimes the best ideas don’t need to be reinvented.
For this photograph, I bought a whole box instead of just one. Stacked together against my very black black background, they stopped looking like something from the grocery store freezer and became a study in repetition, texture, and contrast. The chocolate wafers, bright white ice cream, and imperfect edges created exactly the kind of photograph I was hoping for.
One of the things I enjoy most about food photography is finding subjects that people see every day and presenting them in a way they probably haven’t seen before. The ice cream sandwich isn’t rare, expensive, or complicated. It’s simply an American classic that deserved a few minutes in front of the camera.
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Forget The Standard Ice Cream Sandwich
For National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, I went with something a little different—a Jewish Deli Ice Cream Sandwich. Vanilla ice cream layered between slices of rye bread, topped with yellow mustard, and plated with pickles.
It’s everything you didn’t know you wanted in a dessert: carbs, condiments, and a deli‑counter sense of confidence. Forget the cookies—this is a sandwich your grandmother might serve if she’d finally given up on tradition and decided dessert should also pair well with pastrami.
Yes, I thought this one up myself. I didn’t want to just photograph more ice cream sandwiches. I’ve been reading about the history of Jewish delis and photographing deli food, and one thing led to another. And if you’re curious, I did try it—and it tasted outstanding!
This photo is part of my commercial food photography—where I sometimes explore the less obvious corners of culinary “artistry.” See more here:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000WFAqDJQOgKU
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