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| Type | Ice cream |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Germany |
| Region or state | Mannheim, Baden-Würtemberg |
| Created by | Dario Fontanella |
| Main ingredients | Ice cream,whipped cream,strawberry sauce |
Spaghettieis (German pronunciation:[ʃpaˈɡɛtiˌaɪs]), orspaghetti ice cream, is a Germanice cream dish made to resemble a plate ofspaghetti. In the dish,vanilla ice cream isextruded through a modifiedSpätzle press orpotato ricer, giving it the appearance of spaghetti. It is then placed overwhipped cream and topped withstrawberry sauce (to simulatetomato sauce) and eithercoconut flakes, gratedalmonds, orwhite chocolate shavings to represent theparmesan cheese. Besides the usual dish with strawberry sauce, one may also find variations like ice cream with dark chocolate and nuts, simulatingspaghetti carbonara instead ofspaghetti bolognese.[1] A few American variations on the recipe also exist that utilize small pieces ofbrownies to make the spaghettieis resemblespaghetti and meatballs.[2]
Spaghettieis was created by second-generation ice cream shop ownerDario Fontanella [de] in the late 1960s inMannheim, Germany.[3][4] Fontanella was inspired by amont blanc he tried as a teenager while skiing inCortina d'Ampezzo. 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 theItalian flag. After switching to vanilla gelato and topping it with a strawberrypurée, he grated a white chocolateEaster egg over top to resemble parmesan cheese.[5][6] Fontanella recalls that initially, children who were served spaghettieis broke into tears because they wanted ice cream and not a plate of spaghetti.[4] He received the "Bloomaulorden", a medal bestowed by the city of Mannheim, in 2014.[7]
For many years, the dish was not well known outsideGermany, and could only be found at somegelaterias and specialtyice cream parlors, special events, and hotels and restaurants around the world. Since approximately 2014,[8] Spaghettieis has begun to appear as a novelty in more restaurants and has had some attention on social media.[9]
