Gelato Time!

It’s been a long time since the word gelato has been mentioned in this blog. The biggest reason is that we pretty much stopped eating it. Something about forty degree weather and rain that just doesn’t have you thinking about a gelateria for half the year I guess.

Interestingly enough, most gelaterias close in the winter months and don’t start rolling up the mettle doors for business until April. Now that gelato is back its time to examine it in more detail.

Those of you that have been to Italy, need not be sold on the fact that there is NOTHING in the United States (Ice Cream Wise) that compares to gelato. We’re not quite sure what the secret is and what makes it better than ice cream, but ever since the first time we visited Italy, there has never been any doubt in our minds that its in a league of its own.

So…I decided to search the net for the reasons! Here’s what I came up with:

1. “Fresh Ingredients” – The key difference is that gelato is made from only milk, which is why it has less butterfat than ice cream. You would never guess it however since its so much more smooth. Additionally, gelato is made with “Real Ingredients” (Nuts, fruit and chocolate) rather than its counterparts which often use artificial flavors.
2. “Small Batches” – Gelato is made fresh every day in small batches (At least at the good gelaterias). This allows it to be frozen for only a short period of time, resulting in it not losing its silkiness that sets it a part from its “hard” counterpart ice cream.
3. “Less, or no overrun” – Air increases the “Overrun” in any desert. According to the site, the best quality ice creams contain as much as 50% overrun. In contrast most gelati contain only a 20% overrun (10% air) resulting in a denser and creamer texture of ice cream despite a LOWER butterfat content.
4. “Higher Temperature” – Ice cream can be stored at much lower temperatures than gelato as its density requires a slightly higher serving temperature. This results in a smoother texture and you wont wrench your wrist trying to dig out that first scoop!

OK, with that said, its time for our opinions. Here is the Braheem families reasons for liking gelato so much more:

1. It just tastes way better.
2. So many options. Any given gelateria will have between 20 and 40 flavors to choose from and from one place to the next you may see three or four new flavors you have never seen before! Walnut, Dark Chocolate Hazelnut, Dark Chocolate with cayenne pepper, vanilla with fresh blueberries, fruitie di bosco (Raspberries, blackberries and blueberries), cantaloupe melon, the list goes on and on.
3. The fruit baby! Man, there is no question in mine and Trey’s mind that the fruit flavors are the cream of the crop. Whether its fresh strawberry, raspberry, pear, lemon (Mine and Trey’s favorite), watermelon or peach I’ll take any of the fruit flavors after a big meal as a way to end my night.
4. It’s a family affair! There’s something very family oriented about the four of us going for a gelato and its one of the great memories we have of Italy.

We’ve been hitting the gelateria pretty hard of late. Enjoy some of the photos!