Spumoni Day

August 21 is National Spumoni Day in the United States. It is not as popular as it used to be when there were many more Italian ice cream shops around. Spumone (plural spumoni) is a molded Italian ice cream made with layers of different colors and flavors, containing candied fruits and nuts. It is usually three flavors, cherry, pistachio, and either chocolate or vanilla and the fruit/nut layer often contains cherry bits, causing the traditional red/pink, green, and brown color combination. Dreyer's and Edy's still make the delicious mix. My mouth is watering for some with pistachio ice cream. Yum! Incidentally, November 13 is National Spumoni Day in Canada.

What's in a Name, Spumoni

Spumoni originated in Naples and is the ancestor of Neapolitan ice cream. Spumoni ice cream, like Neapolitan ice cream is a molded Italian ice cream made with layers of different colors and flavors. The difference is that Spumoni usually also contains candied fruits and nuts. The name Spumone comes from spuma or 'foam'. The plural form is spumoni.

Typically it is of three flavors, with a fruit/nut layer between them. The ice cream layers are often mixed with whipped cream. Cherry, pistachio, and either chocolate or vanilla are the typical flavors of the ice cream layers, and the fruit/nut layer often contains cherry bits, causing the traditional red/pink, green, and brown color combination. It is popular in places with large Italian immigrant populations such as the United States and Argentina. August 21 is National Spumoni Day in the United States. November 13 is National Spumoni Day in Canada.