Confectioner said to have co-created Rocky Road ice cream - NYT Crossword Clue

Introduction

This clue is a fun piece of food-related trivia that points to a well-known name in the freezer aisle. It asks for the identity of one of the creators of a classic ice cream flavor, a name that has become synonymous with the product itself. For many solvers, this will be a direct recall, while for others, it might require a bit of brand association and help from crossing clues.

Clue Analysis

The clue, "Confectioner said to have co-created Rocky Road ice cream," has several key parts:

• "Confectioner": This tells us we're looking for a person involved in making sweets, likely a surname.
• "co-created": This implies the person worked with a partner, which is true in this case.
• "Rocky Road ice cream": This is the specific, famous invention tied to the person's identity.

The answer is a three-letter surname that is now a major ice cream brand.

Thinking Approaches

1. Direct Trivia Knowledge: The most straightforward path is to know the history of Rocky Road ice cream. If the story of its invention is familiar to you, the name will likely come to mind immediately.

2. Brand Association: If you don't know the history, try listing major ice cream brands. Ben & Jerry's, Haagen-Dazs, Baskin-Robbins, Dreyer's... and its sister brand. One of these names is the surname of a founder. The three-letter length of the answer slot is a huge help here, quickly eliminating most of the longer brand names.

3. Crosswordese Recognition: Experienced solvers might recognize this name as a common piece of crossword fill. Short, vowel-heavy names of founders and brands (like OREO, AMES, or in this case, the answer) appear frequently.

4. Leveraging Crossings: For a short answer like this, getting even one letter from an intersecting clue can be a game-changer. If you had E _ Y, the answer becomes much easier to guess, especially within the context of ice cream.

Background Context

The answer refers to Joseph Edy, a candy maker who, along with ice cream maker William Dreyer, founded an ice cream company in 1928 in Oakland, California. They are credited with inventing Rocky Road ice cream in 1929.

The story goes that they used Edy's wife's sewing shears to cut marshmallows and walnuts to mix into chocolate ice cream. The name "Rocky Road" was chosen to give people a reason to smile during the difficult times following the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

Interestingly, the company they founded operates under two names. Due to a historical marketing agreement, the brand is sold as Dreyer's in the Western United States and Texas, and as Edy's in the Midwest and Eastern United States. This dual identity is a classic piece of trivia in its own right.

Conclusion

This clue is a perfect example of how general knowledge, particularly about popular brands and their history, is a valuable asset in crossword solving. By connecting the famous flavor "Rocky Road" to its creators, the puzzle leads us to the three-letter surname that remains on ice cream cartons across the country.

Hints

1. Hint 1: The answer is the surname of a founder of a major American ice cream brand.
2. Hint 2: This brand is known by two different names depending on which part of the U.S. you are in.
3. Hint 3: The brand is often sold as "___'s Grand Ice Cream".
4. Hint 4: In the western U.S., the brand is known as Dreyer's.

The answer is EDY.