Italian Gelato Off
Ahhh, gelato. We’ve had quite a lot of it over the years (although never in Italy), and we thought we had a pretty good handle on what it is. Being big fans of a good dessert, we always “got” the fascination with gelato, but we were pretty much “good ice cream… good gelato… whatever… no big difference” sort of guys.
Now that we’ve been to Italy – and had us a lot of gelato in the country – we really get the obsession that gelato devotees have with the stuff.
We learned a lot about gelato during our time in Italy; it’s all about butterfat, sugar, temperature and overrun. Lucky for you, we’re not going to get into much of what we discovered because there are lots of differing opinions regarding exactly what gelato is and what makes it different (for better or worse) from ice cream.
One opinion that Italians universally shared with us, though, is that gelato has more intense flavor than ice cream. We couldn’t agree more, so we started to base our informal gelato critiques on flavor. Here’s what we found at three (of the many, many) gelato shops we visited.
Every day gelato
In order to maximize our flavor sampling experience, we went to a place called Fassi with our pal, Jaime. Fassi is believed to be the oldest and largest gelateria in Italy. A woman who gave us directions on the street ensured us that it was delicious.
We went in with a brilliant strategy. We each ordered three flavors, so – via the miracle of sharing – got to sample nine. Bwahahahaha.
Okay… so we had melon, mango, strawberry, pistachio, dark chocolate, amaretto, hazelnut, chocolate hazelnut and praline. Are you drooling yet?
Bottom line, this stuff was good – like a decent quality ice cream back at home. Two surprises. First, Jaime scored by ordering the fruits, which delivered flavor that was particularly intense and satisfying. Second, the gelato-whisperer behind the counter recommended hazelnut and chocolate hazelnut in the same cup. What a good call. Words can’t describe the unique flavor interplay that was produced.
See how seriously we took this tasting.
Special occassion gelato
We were buzzing through the streets of Rome after diving into this waffle cupped concoction. If we had a normal relationship with food (which we don’t) we probably couldn’t dig into something this rich every day. Maybe once a week.
Ecstasy gelato
I’m crying a little as I write this segment. Not really. But we have to make a dramatic impression to capture the experience that is having gelato from La Sorbetteria Castiglione in Bologna. Do you hear the angels?
We throw the term “mind blowing” around here every now and then. This time we really mean it. In Bologna, we were doing our random experiment, so we were lucky to find this place. In keeping with the terms of our experiment, we had a sorbetteria goddess surprise us with whatever she thought was best.
What you see below is a mix of pistachio, praline and chocolate. It was *insert naughty word here* divine. Thankfully, we both agree that the picture does it justice. You can just tell how creamy and scrumptious it is.
Seriously, look at the cone’s base of chocolate gelato. It looks like (and tasted like) melted chocolate.
After this one-of-a-kind cone, we nearly crawled over the counter to open mouth kiss the woman who prepared it.
Okay… now I am crying a little. Is that normal?
O.M.G. What a great post–especially the Bologna cone. You’re killin’ me!
Keep having fun,
Nancy
The Bologna gelato alone makes that city worth a return visit.
So glad you made it to Frigidarium too! My favorite…
Now I really have to go to Bologna. Seriously. It’s all about the food. Wow.
Bologna has a bunch of neat little gelato shops. Both the hole in the wall style on back streets away from tourists and the big shop style right under the two towers.
I was all prepared to tell you that ice cream is better in Buenos Aires…. but your photos make me think I need to go back to Italy and do another tasting!
We loved the BsAs version (and have pictures to prove it), but I think Italy wins out.
I love Gelato too!! And I am so jealous of you guys trying it all out… It looks so delicious!!
I will have one tomorrow:)
That looks soooo good! I’ve always loved gelato. I even got into a bit of a debate on the differences between gelato and ice cream once. But I’m ashamed to say I haven’t been to Italy yet!! MUST MAKE IT HAPPEN!
YUM!!! I first discovered “real” gelato in Croatia. My personal fave? Coconut!
Okay… I guess we need to get Croatia on the list.
hard life!
Thank you for recognizing that tasting and classifying gelato is a lot of work. Watch for our e-book coming in 2012. There I go kidding again.
you are making me want to jump on a plane to ITALY NOW!!
Glad the food posts are working as planned
I’ve only had gelato once but this makes me eager to try it again. I remember being disappointed the serving was so small, but I guess the big flavors make up for it.
I’m crying a little now too, thanks guys! Great post and the pictures are just amazing!
Okay… so maybe it ISN’T weird to cry over food. Thanks for joining us.
OOoooooh, that looks good!
Your food posts always leave me weak-kneed and this post is no different.
P.S. Do y’all need a baggage handler? Cuz I’m available. Just pay me in gelato. Yum.
Thanks, Marsha. Let’s go eat together sometime. I think we’d have fun.
Yes, I’m drooling…
Mission accomplished.
Now that’s just a mean post.
Gah. I had gelato in Greece but forgot to try it in Italy. Now I’M crying…
We should have told you to try it in Rome. Well, at least you saw the Colesium. Although, sorry folks, I’d take gelato over the Colesium.
All in the name of research, right? =P That last empty bowl of chocolately goodness is killing me right now. KILLING ME.
Well, imagine… Now that we’ve actually had it, we’re like drug addicts.
I have become a gelato convert myself over the past couple years. I used to (inaccurately) think it was a bit like soft serve—aka fake ice cream—but then came to realize it’s really just ice cream’s superior sister. Love me some salted caramel or dulce de leche.
Salted caramel fan? We’ll get along just fine!
I worked in a gourmet ice cream shop for 5 years so it is kinda hard for me to make the jump to gelato. I like it, but good lord, there was already a crap ton of butterfat in our ice cream, gelato is a bit much (but yummy!).
oh no. I was reaching out for the screen but to no avail. So close yet so far.