During the long hot summer days is Italy there is nothing quite as refreshing as stopping off at a gelataria. In Italy it’s as common as a morning coffee and cornetto (croissant not an ice cream). So in the evening people often take a gelato rather than an early evening aperitivo. You will often see Italians walking home after work with a gelato in their hands. Like most things in Italy there is often passionate conversations about which gelataria and flavours are the best. My advice would be to assume that most places are of a good standard and quality. And an evening walk, la passeggiata for Italians, is the best way to enjoy this experience of Italy.
What is gelato?
Many people will tell you that the ice cream in Italy is different than in other countries. Gelato generally has some significant differences to other ‘ice creams’. Firstly, gelato contains less cream and egg yolk but has a more milk that it’s ice cream cousin. Second, during the process of making gelato it is churned at a much slower speed. This gives it a semi-hard consistency where ice cream is often colder and harder. Third, gelato is served a couple of degrees warmer than ice cream. This provides the softer consistency and also makes the flavours more pronounced. There is also what is internationally known as sorbet or sorbetto, or in italy granita. This is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and different flavorings. It has its origins in Sicily and is available throughout Italy with many different flavours on offer.
Most are run by individual business owners, there are not many chain stores. This individuality means that there are many choices and subtle difference available. Taste may well be the deciding factor for your favourite gelataria. However, it could just be down to the location or the hospitality on offer. In Italy finding your gelataria is like finding the bar for your morning coffee or your local pizzeria. All of them are often an individual choice and once chosen you may feel disloyal going elsewhere.
Inside the gelataria the gelato is generally not on show for you to see. In some more tourist places they may have the gelato on display. The gelato is usually kept in metal containers with the lid on. This ensures that the gelato is held at the correct temperature. The available tastes will normally be on a board and quite easy to see. First it’s better to know if you want to have a biscuit cone or a paper cup (copetta). In Italy focaccina, charlotte and crepes are also available. If you fancy a drink instead you could go for a frappè or a granita. My advice is always to go for the cup. With the hot weather there is a tendency for the gelato to melt quickly. With a cup you can enjoy the gelato a little longer and avoid the mess. You can also take the ice cream away in a polystyrene container. This way you can keep it in the freezer and eat it later. Once you have decided between a cone or cup you need to decide this size. The size will determine the price but more importantly how many flavours you can choose. At my local gelataria €4 is plenty for me and you can have up to 3 flavours. And then to the main choice.
The flavours at first may seem a little daunting and you may come out without what you wanted. So to make things simple we have shown English flavours and what a typical Italian ice cream will be.
Vanilla – Often called gelato alla vaniglia or del Madagascar.
Chocolate – Cioccolato fondente for dark chocolate or cioccolato al latte for milk chocolate. Gianduia is chocolate with hazelnut and cioccolato all’aranciq is chocolate with orange.
Cream – Stracciatella is vanilla with chocolate. Fior di latte is a sweet creamy gelato. Crema is a rich custard flavour. Caffè is as it says with coffee. Zabaione is a custard flavour with marsala.
Pistacchio – As it says it pistachio flavored gelato and is a very popular gelato amongst Italians.
Mandorla – Like pistacchio just remember that mandorla is Italian for almond.
Nocciola – Again keeping this simple nocciola means hazelnut and is another Italian classic.
Fragola – This means strawberry. Frutti di bosco means fruits of the forest so will be made with various berries. Pesca is peach. Limone is obviously Lemon but you may want to have this as a granita and Arancia is orange. Also popular is Amarena which is cherry and is often sour in taste. Noce di Cocco is coconut but is often just be called Cocco.
Menta – This is a refreshing one for me and the Italians like to play around with names and flavours. Many places will serve After Eight which is like the famous chocolate and is a mix of mint and chocolate.
Lastly we have what I call the deserts menu. Zuppa Inglese is often served as a desert in restaurants and is similar to the english trifle. It is a mix of custard, chocolate and lady fingers and is often served as gelato. Tiramisu is again like the desert but also a popular gelato and let’s not forget Caffè which needs no description.
Below is a typical menu at a gelataria. The first image is how you want your ice cream served. The second is the flavours on offer.
