Ice-cream that looks like spaghetti: spaghettieis

Click Clack Gorilla's "ode to spaghettieis" celebrates a German ice-cream dish that looks like spaghetti Bolognese. The noodles are extruded white ice-cream. It was invented in 1969, and remains popular.

It really looks like spaghetti, doesn’t it? I imagine that it is made using a machine much like the one that came with the Play Dough restaurant set I had as a child. (Yep, it is, says the internet. Shops use a fancy automatic press, and you can make it at home with any old noodle press.) I’ve never tried it myself, but I’m willing to bet that it’s as much fun to make as it is to eat. A heap of noodle-shaped vanilla ice cream on a bed of whipped cream and covered in strawberry sauce and coconut chips (or nut chips)? Yum.
But the whimsy doesn’t stop there. Oh no! There are other varieties. Carbonara (with a brownish liquor sauce and nuts), and oh crap I can’t remember the rest (I was at the ice cream shop a couple of hours ago, but I’m going to have to call breastfeeding brain on this one). Just take my word for it. It’s a theme with a number of amusing variations.
When Spaghettieis and I met, we fell in love instantly. It was tasty, it was novel, it was cheap (2 DM to the dollar in those days), and it was responsible for at least half of the ten pounds I gained during our month-long high school exchange. I ate it every chance I got, which turned out to be every day during our final week in Krefeld. But the pounds melted back off once I was out of the land of noodle ice cream and sandwiches for breakfast. Did I say yum?

german food: an ode to spaghettieis (via Neatorama)

(Image: Untitled, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from lainetrees's photostream)

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MORE: carbs • Food • germany • not food

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http://www.facebook.com/virginia.white.399 Virginia White

Millions of military brats remember this from their childhood. It was always my favorite thing to get at the Dolomiti.
- spacemunky
  
  Yes! My parents liked it because they knew it didn’t have stealth alcohol, unlike most other treats from off-base. Many christmas chocolates went to the grown-ups after we mentioned they tasted funny.
sam1148

You can also make that with a potato ricer for the ice cream. Strawberry Jam for the sauce, white chocolate for the cheese; And Sliced and toasted pound cake for the ‘bread’.
http://www.facebook.com/julianreischl Julian Reischl

I actually wonder that this is not widely known in the US. Spaghetti-Eis is available at practically every italian “Eiscafé”, meaning ice-cream and coffee-parlor, over here in Germany. The advantage is that the ice is easily edible and can be scooped by even the smallest children. The disadvantage is that it melts really quickly. Usually, it is not for takeaway, but for sitdownandenjoy.

Ususally, two scoops of vanilla ice are placed into a little holder with a sieve, that goes into a machine, which squeezes it onto a plate or into a bowl held below. There are also holders with a single slit, you can use them to make ice cream lasagna.
I dug out a web site of an italian company that shows the machine: http://www.bravo.it/de/p/spaghetti-new-eis

But you can squeeze the ice with a simple potato-squeezer, too.
ifriit

Damn you, lactose intolerance.
- http://echofox3.blogspot.com efergus3
  
  Try http://www.lactaid.com/
  It’s also available as a cheaper generic over-the-counter. Or you can try eating a live culture yogurt for a week or so. That will usually do the trick after too many antibiotics.
mtdna

Suck on it Dippin’ Dots!
http://www.facebook.com/garfield1979 Christopher Johnson

My favorite part of it is the frozen whipped cream in the center of this… omg it was so delicious.
mccrum

Spaghettieis is probably my favorite memory of trips to Germany. Not Checkpoint Charlie in 1991, not visiting the Brandenberg Gate, not the AutoBahn: Spaghettieis. It probably has something to do with hanging out in the center of town at a cafe for a while with nothing else to do.
Osiris Brackhaus

Damn, I practically grew up on that stuff. And yes, the mound of partially frozen whipped cream underneath it all was the best part, together with the sauce.
https://openid.stackexchange.com/user/2fe8f59b-0c2a-4e38-8bd0-fef3360fbc22 Henning

This is so 80′s in Germany – but always very tasty ;)
http://twitter.com/MatRicardo Mat Ricardo

Oh yes – memories of long boring contracts working in Germany here.. The place I used to go to also did Pizza and Lasagna Eis…
http://Valanx.org David Deutsch

Spaghetti Eis is indeed the best ice cream dish. Period.

Notes:
- The quality of the vanilla ice cream and the strawberry sauce make or break this dish.
- It has to be white chocolate flakes. Has to. People who enjoy it with coconut flakes are utter morons who deserve nothing but ridicule and contempt.
- Added Strawberries = Yes please – Another sign of superior quality (some parlors have a separate variety with strawberries – so go for that if you have the choice).
- The bed of whipped cream at the center of the vanilla spaghetti… slightly frozen where in contact with the cold stuff… OMG YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY DIE WITHOUT HAVING TASTED THIS

Been to neighbour countries who tried to copy the German variety and they don’t even come close. Grew up on this stuff. Sometimes chose a different ‘dish’, to not always eat the same. Always followed with regret. Some parlors have it double sized. I’m salivating.

P.S.: There are pop-psychology questions asking Germans what ice-cream-dish they go for. Being a person who will not eat anything but this dish at an ice cream parlor is /a thing/ here.
kobrakai

I’ve never had this but without a doubt the best ice cream I ever ate was in Germany. Nordmann’s Eisfabrik (if my memory serves me).
Wisconsin Platt

Ice cream blessed by his noodly appendage. Ramen!
glatt1

Brings back great memories. I loved Spaghetti Eis. I’m surprised we don’t have it here in the US.
http://www.facebook.com/andrew.ault Andrew Ault

I’ve had that in the Italian restaurant in the middle of the Caesar’s Palace Forum shopping mall. It was more convincing that the photo. They did a great job mimicking each part.
John Napsterista

Most atheists and apostates don’t know it, but this is actually a picture of Church of the FSM’s sacramental confection.
http://profile.yahoo.com/SITRDEBOFGM3PJPMEKMR4XQHW4 yahoo-SITRDEBOFGM3PJPMEKMR4XQHW4

HamburgerEis…
http://twitter.com/typocube klaus kremer

Pizza Eis… (most overused complaint to the staff: “Hey my pizza is cold…)
firethorn

Man, I absolutely loved Spaghettieis when I was a kid, practically had to have it like every other week or so. Haven’t enjoyed any for at least 15 years now, but the article totally makes me want to go out to the nearest Gelateria and get some. :)