Neapolitan ice cream facts for kids
Block of Neapolitan ice cream
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| Place of origin | Prussia |
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| Main ingredients | Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry ice cream |
| Variations | Historically, colours were of the Italian flag: green (pistachio or almond), white (vanilla), and red (cherry, actually pink) |
Neapolitan ice cream, sometimes called Harlequin ice cream, is a type of ice cream. It has three different flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. These flavors are placed next to each other in the same container, usually without any dividers.
Contents
History of Neapolitan Ice Cream
Neapolitan ice cream got its name in the late 1800s. It was named after Naples, a city in Italy. Many people from Naples moved to the United States. They brought their amazing skills in making frozen desserts with them.
Early Ice Cream in America
A dessert called Spumone was brought to the United States in the 1870s. It was like Neapolitan-style ice cream. Early recipes used many different flavors. But, they often had three flavors molded together. This was done to look like the Italian flag. The Italian flag has green, white, and red stripes.
Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry became the usual flavors. This was because they were the most popular ice cream flavors in the United States at that time.
First Recipe Recorded
Neapolitan ice cream was the first type of ice cream to mix three flavors. The first known recipe was created in 1839. It was made by Louis Ferdinand Jungius, who was the head chef for the royal Prussian household. He dedicated his recipe to Fürst Pückler.
How Neapolitan Ice Cream Was Described in the 1800s
In the late 1800s, people wrote about how to make and serve this ice cream. They often used a special container called a "Neapolitan box."
Making Layers of Flavor
In 1885, a book called The Book of Ices described how to use a "Neapolitan box." You would fill it with three or four layers of different colored and flavored ice creams. For example, you could use lemon, vanilla, chocolate, and pistachio. After molding it for a few hours, you would turn it out. Then, you would cut it into slices and serve them nicely on a dish.
Serving Ideas from the Past
In 1894, another book, Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book, talked about "Neapolitan Icey Cones." It explained that you put different kinds and colors of ice cream into a mold. When it was set, you would cut it into slices. Even small pieces should have some of each flavor.
People usually put four or five kinds of ice cream in the mold, but three was also fine. Here are some flavor ideas from back then:
- Vanilla cream, then raspberry or cherry water.
- Coffee or chocolate in the middle.
- Strawberry cream, with lemon, orange, or pineapple water to finish.
Other ideas included tea cream, banana cream, pistachio, or almond cream with cherry or strawberry water. There was even a special "Neapolitan Ice Spoon" to help put the mixture into the mold and level it.
Neapolitan Cake
In Australia, there's a popular cake called Neapolitan cake or marble cake. It uses the same three colors as Neapolitan ice cream. These colors are swirled together to create a marble pattern. The cake is usually topped with pink icing.
See also
In Spanish: Helado napolitano para niños
