Neapolitan ice cream, also sometimes referred to as Harlequin ice cream, is an

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

composed of three separate flavors (typically

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

, and

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...

) arranged side by side in the same container, usually without any barrier between them.

History

Neapolitan ice cream was the first ice cream recipe to combine three flavors. The first recorded recipe was created by head chef of the royal Prussian household Louis Ferdinand Jungius in 1839, who dedicated the recipe to the nobleman, Fürst Pückler. The German name for Neapolitan ice cream is '. Its English-language name of Neapolitan arose in the late 19th century due to confusion about its origin given Italy's reputation for ice cream or because its colors—originally green (pistachio), white (vanilla) and red (cherry)—matched those of the Italian flag. Early recipes featured a variety of flavors, but the combination of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry became the standard, likely because these were the most popular flavors in the United States at the time of its introduction.

Quotes from food historians

19th century descriptions

Cake

In Australia, there is a popular cake known as Neapolitan cake or marble cake, made with the same three colours of Neapolitan ice cream swirled through in a marble pattern, usually topped with pink icing.

References

Sources