When was neapolitan ice cream invented

When the ice cream attains a stiffness desirable for packing, the three freezers pump their flavors into distinct compartments of a rectangular device called a header. The header molds the ice cream into a manageable brick, and then the contents of all three compartments are simultaneously extruded into a waiting box.

Because the flavors settle differently in the box, surface area is not divided equally among the three flavors. The label Neapolitan was originally used to designate a layered ice cream that included Italian ice, preferably orange or lemon, among its constituent parts.

Of course, we bet Neapolitan immigrants in the 's wouldn't have guessed that their ice cream creation would have been enjoyed freeze-dried too. Imagine how shocked they would have been to try ice cream that has the classic Neapolitan taste, isn't cold, melts in your mouth, and requires no refrigeration.

It's mind blowing! Are you a Neapolitan Ice Cream fanatic? Enjoy a totally delicious Neapolitan treat, by crumbling a Neapolitan Astronaut Ice Cream Sandwich on top of regular Neapolitan ice cream! The crunch from the freeze-dried ice cream adds the perfect texture to this creamy ice cream. November 08, Read More. Going back to the flag thing, if Neapolitan ice cream had stuck with, say, pistachio instead of chocolate, then the whole flag metaphor would have worked.

But chocolate won, because chocolate is chocolate, and chocolate dominates the sweet-tooth diet. The year the process of freeze-drying was discovered by German researcher Richard Altmann , who developed the process when trying to come up with a way to analyze the properties of tissues he was a histologist, who specialized in the study of tissues. The process quickly became known for foods, with its best-known use, in instant coffee, emerging after World War II—a period in which much experimenting with freeze-drying took place.

Astronaut ice cream, a form of ice cream for which the ice part is kind of a misnomer. One of the key sources where one might run into Neapolitan ice cream outside of the frozen section of the grocery store is in freeze-dried form. It was one of many types of food that was developed for the U. Whirlpool was going crazy with efforts to freeze-dry the liquids out of food so they could be used in space, as well as to design receptacles that could easily store the purpose-built food.

Joseph, Michigan , laid out what the company did—putting together bacon, coffee, orange drinks, dried fruits, and candy in a form that could survive without most of the necessary elements needed for enjoyment of these things on Earth—that is, the shape, the lack of consistency, and the weight generated by all of the liquids. Rehydratable foods require a certain amount of water to knead the mixture into an edible meal. It must be caloric distributed by about 17 percent protein; 32 percent fats and 51 percent carbohydrates; low in crude fiber; and resemble the color, flavor, and texture of freshly prepared food.

But ice cream was something worked on, with rumors of it appearing on the Apollo 7 mission, according to a NASA press kit. And an Associated Press article does definitively mention that vanilla ice cream was an option on the menu for that flight:. Yet the food itself would be unrecognizable to the ordinary diner. It is cooked, freeze-dried, powered or compressed, coated with gelatin and sawed into standard sizes. The National Archives describes efforts by other companies, including Pillsbury and Westinghouse, to help put necessary elements into space.

Pillsbury, like Whirlpool, was also focused on the food. That food needed to do a few things: Avoid crumbs, because crumbs are dangerous in zero gravity; avoid growing bacteria, because who wants to give an astronaut a space infection; and be easy to manage and dispose of.

The problem with freeze-dried ice cream, beyond being a poor room-temperature facsimile of a food that literally has ice in its name? Simply put, it did not survive the break test. What did you think they did?!? But what about the stuff in gift stores? Well, it turns out that it was a gimmick produced by American Outdoor Products, a company that specializes in freeze-dried backpacker food. So why was it so often a Neapolitan flavor? We mix flavors all the time now!