It's Gelato not Ice Cream blog #4

So when in Rome, or Italy in general, there are a few staples in food. You have pasta, wine, coffee and of course Gelato.

So of course I have had Gelato. First night here I actually got it. I highly recommend going to a Gelateria or a Mercato to work on vocabulary. Anyway lately I've been getting una coppetta or a cup, which is very not me. I was always a cone person, but eating in the cups gets you more gelato. Usually a small can get you two to three flavors, which is awesome because I get to try more flavors. First lets discuss the differences between ice cream and gelato. 

According to this picture and a huffington post article gelato contains less fat, is churned slower and more gentle, and is served at a higher temperature. It's interesting because like wine, slight differences in the process affect the product. The best comparison in wine is Barolo and Barbera wines which are both monovarietal wines meaning they are 100% one type of grape, in this case the Nebbiolo grapes. Just by varying the process the same grapes result in differing products. Same in ice cream and gelato.  Now that we have separated ice cream and gelato, without answering the controversial debate of which is better, I want to discuss flavors. Some of the flavors are seen in the picture. 

There are a lot of basic flavors such as fragola (strawberry), stracciatella (vanilla with chocolate), ciocolat (do you need a translation?), and crema (vanilla) but you can also find some pretty fun flavors as well. I have tried a ferero Roche flavor gelato and a rice flavored gelato. It is so much fun to try new flavors and being pleasantly surprised each time. I will admit I have a bit of a picky palate, but I have yet to find a gelato I don't like.  Gelato has a rich history that I honestly wouldn't have known about before this class. Gelato originated 12,000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Back then it was really just snow and ice and flavorings, not really what we know of gelato today. Gelato became more like the current one in the Renaissance when alchemist Cosimo Ruggieri made the first gelato flavor. In the past 100 years technological advances have also advanced the quality and safety of gelato and we are all forever grateful to this. There is a gelato museum in Anzola dell’Emilia, just outside of Bologna, at the Gelato Museum Carpigiani. It is now on my list of places to go. Of course the gelato tastings at the museum is a pretty persuasive attraction. 

For now I will continue to go around Rome finding new Gelaterie and new flavors! 

Sources

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/ice-cream-vs-gelato_n_3333016.html

http://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/taste-history-gelato