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Ice Cream Day
"I guess ice cream is one of those things that are beyond imagination. "
~L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, 1908
Is there anything better than ice cream on a summer's day? Not much, perhaps some sorbet, or sherbet, or gelato, or kulfi or more ice cream! Since 500 BC in ancient Persia, frozen dessert ices were enjoyed by combining ice (obtained from mountains and returned to the warmer climes by runners) to be mixed with rosewater, saffron, or fruits to create desserts for royalty. By the 17th century, Charles I of England was reportedly so impressed by the "frozen snow" that he offered his own ice cream maker a lifetime pension in return for keeping the formula secret, so that ice cream could be a royal prerogative! It was not until the late 18th and 19th centuries that ices and ice creams became accessible to the common folk via printed recipes and specialty ice cream parlours. Neapolitan ice cream (also known as Harlequin ice cream) whose sweet colourways are deliciously designed into this tartan, was first introduced in the United States in the 1870s as an ice cream version of Spumoni, the Italian fruit and nut layered dessert representing the Italian flag: Green for pistachio or almond, White for vanilla, and Pink/Red for cherry! Remember, "You scream! I scream! We all scream for ice cream! Yum, yum ! 💗 🤍 💚 🤎 💗 🍨 🍦
Neapolitan ice cream, sometimes known as harlequin ice cream, is a flavor of ice cream made up of three separate flavored blocks of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream side by side in the same container. Historically, colours were of the Italian flag: green (pistachio or almond), white (vanilla), and red (cherry, actually pink).
Regional variations now occur; In Ireland, the most popular Neapolitan brand uses vanilla, strawberry and lemon flavour ice cream!
Neapolitan ice cream was named in the late 19th century as a reflection of its presumed origins in the cuisine of the Italian city of Naples, and the many Neapolitan immigrants who brought their expertise in frozen desserts with them to the United States. Spumoni (the ancestor of Neapolitan ice cream, a three flavors dessert, with a fruit/nut layer between them often with whipped cream) was introduced to the United States in the 1870s in the form of a Neapolitan-style ice cream.
Early recipes used a variety of flavors. However, the number of three molded together was the original common denominator meant to resemble the Italian flag. It is believed that chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry became the current standard as they were the most popular flavors in the United States at the time of introduction.
This tartan, by designer Carol A.L. Martin, includes the colors of a classic Neapolitan ice cream, with a spumoni green layer.
For a whole set of delicious ideas inspired by Neapolitan ice cream, including cupcakes, ice cream cake, doughnuts, and macarons, click the ice cream.