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.

National Ice Cream Month

July is National Ice Cream Month, so here are a few ice cream facts.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan declared the third Sunday in July to be National Ice Cream Day and the month of July to be National Ice Cream Month.

Per capita ice cream consumption in the US is about 5 1/2 gallons.

It takes about twelve pounds of whole milk to make one gallon of ice cream.

French Ice Cream is enriched with egg yolks.

More ice cream is sold on Sunday than any other day of the week.

It takes 50 licks to finish a single scoop of ice cream.

The top five most popular ice cream flavors are: vanilla, chocolate, Neapolitan, strawberry, and cookies n' cream.

Vanilla makes up about twenty five percent of all ice cream sales.

Neapolitan ice cream is ice cream made up of blocks of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream side by side in the same container. Giuseppe Tortoni, a Neapolitan (living in Paris) created many layered ice cream cakes and the term Neapolitan was named after him.