SC - Re: FW: Neopolitan ice cream

[Philip & Susan Troy]

> Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 04:40:23 EST
> From: Gerekr <Gerekr at aol.com>
> Subject: SC - Re:  FW: Neopolitan ice cream
> 
> I got the following question at work (public library).. anyone in the 
> Cathedral know when & where Neapolitan ice/ice cream actually originated?
> 
> >|Why do they call the combination of
> >| vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream Neopolitan?
> >
> (my answer to date:)
> >I'd assume it's because the combination first became well-known in Naples!
> >My great old dictionary gives only definitions indicating "origin in Naples"
> >and this kind of ice cream!  Only it says "2-4 layers, usually including
> >lemon or orange ice..." which dosn't seem to be included in the current
> >Am'r'cn version!

FWIW, the flag of Napoli, as a sovereign state, prior to the unification
of Italy in, what, the 1870's or so, was divided into three sections,
like the modern Italian flag, but in panels of red, white, and black.
I'm not sure how far back that goes, but it's an interesting
coincidence, if that's all it is.

> >Larousse Gastronomique indicates that it's "alternate layers of plain ice
> >cream and mousse mixtures", another food dictionary from the ref section
> >says "brick form", another just implies "layers"... we don't have much in
> >the circulating collection on ice cream, and it's (almost) all checked
> >out...

I've also read that Neapolitan anything (or almost anything, pizza and
people being evident exceptions) is likely to be made in varicolored
layers. Further, I've also read that the puff pastry Napoleon is, in
fact, named (albeit corrupted) for Napoli, and not for Old Boney (sorry,
I've been reading George MacDonald Fraser again!)

> >So it looks like variegated layers, in "brick" form = "Neapolitan"; choc,
> >vanilla and strawberry are just the american/lowest common denominator
> >modern minimum commercial version.

Possibly. There may turn out to be another explanation we haven't
touched on, yet.

Adamantius
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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