The Scoop on German Ice Cream: A Delicious Taste of Deutschland

Want to know the scoop on German ice cream? Check out this post on everything you need to know about German ice cream and its effect on German culture.

Ice cream in Germany is more than just a typical dessert to the average German. It’s also a meal in their summer diet similar to a slice of cake and coffee at 3 p.m. (Kaffee und Kuchen). This, however, is a huge contrast to America’s ice cream culture since a scoop of ice cream is usually seen as a sweet treat.

It’s even not uncommon for Germans to eat ice cream whenever the sun shines or even when it doesn’t. Ice cream in Germany brings in about $3 billion a year in sales as a result of this, so it’s no surprise this dessert plays a huge role in their culture.

So, if you want to learn more about the scoop on German ice cream, keep reading! This post highlights everything you need to know about German ice cream and how it affects the culture in Germany today.

The History of German Ice Cream

The history of German ice cream dates all the way back to the 1800s when the Italians brought it to Germany. One of Germany’s first ice cream shops (Eisdiele) was founded by the Sarclettis, an Italian family, who opened a shop in Munich. Italians, in general, would also seasonally immigrate to Germany to sell their food and gelato from food carts, but this practice slowed down during World War I. It wasn’t until the 1920s, however, that the Italians were right back at it, but then an anti-immigration sentiment permeated the country.

This resulted in Italians having a hard time selling their gelato to Germans via food carts, leaving entrepreneurial Italian ice cream dealers no choice but to sell their gelato from their ground-floor apartments. This was successful for many Italians though, to the point where many of them started their own businesses in Germany and settled there full-time.

However, the ice-cream fueled immigration from Italians was disrupted by World War II. It wasn’t until the 1950s though that Italians started moving to Germany again in droves, opening ice cream parlors with Italian names like Veneto, Dolomito, or Cortina to honor their families. In fact, to this day, many of the estimated ice cream shops in Germany are still owned by the same Italian families that brought the first ice cream.

Ice cream in Germany however didn’t just come from the Italians. Denmark also played a role in this when Karl Rolf Seyferth imported the innovative “ice cream on a stick” idea from Denmark in the 1930s. “Ice cream on a stick” is simply the idea of playing ice cream into a waffle cone which the Germans enjoyed very much. The option of putting “ice cream in a tub” also came into play with popular brands like Langnese and Schöller who also brought in the famous vanilla-chocolate-strawberry ice cream sandwich. 

So, no matter where it originates, there is no ignoring the popularity of ice cream in Germany. Now, Schöller specifically, mostly produces fruity ice pops and jaunty ice cream cones are what most Germans look forward to when they stop by an ice cream parlor or grocery store in Germany.

The Different Types of German Ice Cream

When it comes to the different types of ice cream served in Germany, what’s usually served as ice cream in Germany is actually gelato.

Here are some of the key differences between ice cream and gelato you should note:

1. Gelato is made with milk while ice cream is made with cream.
2. Gelato has under 4% fat compared to ice cream which is just 10%.
3. Gelato has more dense and intense flavor than ice cream.
4. Gelato doesn’t need to be kept at a cold temperature as ice cream since its texture is much smoother.

Spaghettieis

Spaghettieis is also one of the most iconic German ice cream types you can get in Germany.

And I know what you’re thinking… is Spaghetteis really just pasta mixed in with ice cream?

The answer to that is 100% NO.

The name Spaghettieis comes from the fact that the ice cream sundae resembles spaghetti not because it tastes like it. It was created by a second-generation ice cream shop owner, Dario Fontanella, in the late 1960s in Mannheim. He made the ice cream by pushing vanilla Eis through a large spoon with holes to make the noodles and then he topped it with strawberry sauce and coconut shavings for the Parmesan. I had the opportunity to try it myself when I lived in Germany last year and might I say it is DELICIOUS! The ice cream itself also isn’t well known outside of Germany, so you won’t have much luck finding it anywhere else.

German Ice Cream Flavors

Here are some German ice cream flavors you can expect to see when you enter an ice cream parlor in Germany:

• Vanille – Vanilla
• (Dunkle/Weiss) Schokolade – (Dark/White) Chocolate
• Erdbeere – Strawberry
• Stracciatella – An Italian classic of vanilla ice cream with chocolate shavings
• Pistazie – Pistachio
• Haselnuss – Hazelnut
• Joghurt – Yogurt
• Maracuja – Passionfruit
• Himbeer – Raspberry
• Malaga – Rum Raisin
• Waldmeister – Woodruff
• Walnuss – Walnut
• Amarena – Yogurt with some cherry
• Kirsch – Cherry
• Kaffee – Coffee
• Kinder Bueno – Made of the chocolate bar called Kinder Bueno (a crispy, creamy chocolate bar)
• Waldfrucht/Waldbeeren – A mix of berries
• Pfirsich – Peach

How to Order Ice Cream in German

There are many ways one can order ice cream in German. Here are some phrases you can say when it’s your turn to order at a German ice cream parlor:

• Eine Kugel Vanilleeis, bitte: You would say this if you wanted to order a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you can replace Vanilleeis with any ice cream flavor of your choice. Eine Kugel in this phrase also means “one scoop”.
• Ich hätte gerne 4 Kugeln im Becher: Erdbeer, Pistazie, Joghurt, Haselnuss: You would say this if you wanted to order multiple scoops of ice cream and you can replace the number and ice cream flavors with any others of your choice. Kugeln is also the plural form of eine Kugel.
• In der Waffel / im Becher: You would say this to clarify whether you want the scoop(s) of ice cream in a waffle cone or a cup. Saying In der Waffel means you want it in a waffle cone while saying Im Becher means you want it in a cup.
• Mit Sahne: You would say this to clarify that you want whipped cream on your ice cream.

German Ice Cream vs. American Ice Cream

Compared to American ice cream, German ice cream has more flavor and feels less heavy. The reason for this is because Germans serve gelato instead of ice cream which was stated previously.

But you may also be wondering… why doesn’t the U.S. just serve gelato instead of ice cream?

Well, the reason the U.S. doesn’t do this is because according to American Ice Cream law, for something to be called ice cream, it must have 10% milk fat and may be whipped until it’s 50% air.

Which in my opinion is a bit ridiculous if you ask me.

Gelato unfortunately is made with milk instead of cream, making it under 10% milk fat, and since it isn’t whipped as much we can’t replace it with ice cream. So, if you’re an American who likes eating gelato all day everyday, I suggest moving out of the country.

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Overall, I hope you enjoyed this post on the scoop on German ice cream! Please let me know in the comments below what your experience was like trying German ice cream for the first time. I would love to hear from you! 🙂

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