Spaghettieis (), or spaghetti ice cream, is a German

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 ...

dish made to resemble a plate of

spaghetti Spaghetti () is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta.spaghetti
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Una ...

. In the dish, vanilla ice cream is

extruded Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex ...

through a modified

Spätzle Spätzle (), Spätzla or Spatzen, called ''nokedli'' () in Hungarian, are a type of Central European egg pasta typically served as a side for meat dishes with sauce. Commonly associated with Swabia (hence Swabian spaetzle) and Alsace, it is als ...

press or

potato ricer A potato ricer (also called a ricer) is a List of food preparation utensils, kitchen implement used to process potatoes or other food by forcing it through a sheet of small holes, which are typically about the diameter of a grain of rice. This for ...

, giving it the appearance of spaghetti. It is then placed over

whipped cream Whipped cream, also known as Chantilly cream or (), is high-fat dairy cream that has been aerated by whisking until it becomes light, fluffy, and capable of holding its shape. This process incorporates air into the cream, creating a semi-soli ...

and topped with strawberry sauce (to simulate

tomato sauce Tomato sauce (; ; ) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes. In some countries the term refers to a sauce to be served as part of a dish, in others it is a condiment. Tomatoes have a rich flavor, high water content, s ...

) and either

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

flakes, grated

almonds The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera by corrugations on the sh ...

, or white chocolate shavings to represent the

parmesan cheese Parmesan (, ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cow's milk and aged at least 12 months. It is a grana-type cheese, along with Grana Padano, the historic , and others. The term ''Parmesan'' may refer to either Parmigiano ...

. Besides the usual dish with strawberry sauce, one may also find variations like ice cream with dark chocolate and nuts, simulating spaghetti carbonara instead of spaghetti bolognese. A few American variations on the recipe also exist that utilize small pieces of brownies to make the spaghettieis resemble spaghetti and meatballs.

History

Spaghettieis was created by second-generation ice cream shop owner Dario Fontanella in the late 1960s in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

, Germany. Fontanella was inspired by a ''

mont blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

'' he tried as a teenager while skiing in

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

. After being informed that the dessert was made using a spätzle press, he wanted to try creating a similar dish using the gelato from his father's shop. Fontanella's first attempt at spaghettieis did not impress his father; he used strawberry, lemon and pistachio gelato to create a colorful depiction of the Italian flag. After switching to vanilla gelato and topping it with a strawberry

purée A purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually vegetables, fruits or legumes, that has been ground, pressed, blended or sieved to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid. Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., appl ...

, he grated a white chocolate

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...

over top to resemble parmesan cheese. Fontanella recalls that initially, children who were served spaghettieis broke into tears because they wanted ice cream and not a plate of spaghetti. He received the "Bloomaulorden", a medal bestowed by the city of Mannheim, in 2014. For many years, the dish was not well-known outside

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and could only be found at some gelaterias and specialty ice cream parlors, special events, and hotels and restaurants around the world. Since approximately 2014, Spaghettieis has begun to appear as a novelty in more restaurants and has had some attention on social media.

References

German desserts Ice cream Metaphors referring to spaghetti {{germany-dessert-stub