National Spumoni Day

Before Neapolitan ice cream was a supermarket staple, Italians were layering frozen creams and candied fruit into moulds called spumoni. This dessert likely originated in Campania or Sicily in the late 19th century and combined three flavours—usually cherry, pistachio and vanilla—swirled with candied citrus peel and nuts. The layers were moulded in a cylindrical shape and served sliced so each piece revealed a tricolour cross‑section. Italian immigrants brought the tradition to the United States, and by 1905 Salvatore Lezza was selling spumoni from his bakery in Chicago. As the dessert became popular, Americans adapted it into Neapolitan ice cream, which omits the candied fruits and uses strawberry, vanilla and chocolate instead. National Spumoni Day invites us to revisit the original. Its textures—rich ice cream against chewy fruit—invite slow savour. To celebrate, seek out a gelateria that offers spumoni or try making it at home with pistachio gelato, cherry ice cream and almond‑studded vanilla. Fold in bits of candied orange and maraschino cherries and freeze in a loaf pan. When you slice into it, you’ll see layers of colour like a frozen flag. Serve slices with espresso or a shot of amaretto and appreciate how immigrants’ recipes travel and evolve.