Gelato: Indulging in Italian Ice Cream

I still remember the first time I tried Gelato. I was wandering aimlessly in Buenos Aires when I spotted an ice cream parlor selling Italian Gelato. I was instantly hooked. The quality of Italian ice cream is a cut above what I've tried back home in North America. With the opportunity to visit Italy for the first time it was a no-brainer that we'd sample gelato from where it was created. Come join us as we sample several different flavors and explain what makes gelato primo ice cream.
Gelato: Indulging in Italian Ice Cream Travel Video Transcript:
One of the pleasures of coming to Italy is indulging in the local ice cream known as gelato. Here we've each got two cones. I've got the waffle cone over here and Audrey's going to be trying the regular cone. We've got different flavors and we can't wait to try a taste test now.
Okay, so I went for a medium sized cone with two scoops. The first flavor is wild berries and the second one on top is a bit unusual. It is pear and cheese. I've never had cheese flavored ice cream before unless it was cheesecake. So it should be interesting.
Mmmmm.
Okay, wild berries are really good. One more lick.
Mmmm.
Okay. So that is the pear and cheese. It has real chunks of pear so it is very fruity. It has a nice strong flavor. And you also taste a hint of cheese. I couldn't tell you what kind of cheese it is but it is coming through. I'm very happy with the selection.
Now tell us about the flavors in your giant waffle cone. Yeah, so I picked two as well. This one over here is black cherry.
Hahaha.
Is that good? A bit of brain freeze. I took too big of a bite.
Yeah, you can really taste the cherry. It is very strong and over here is pistachio. And pistachio is awesome. It is one of my favorite ice cream flavors. I think the only one I particularly like more is rum and raisin but they didn't have that.
So what would be the difference between gelato and regular ice cream that we're used to in North America?
Okay, so there are a few key differences. First up, gelato is churned at a slower rate so that means it gets less air and then it has a thicker, denser quality.
And the second key difference is that gelato has a lower fat content which means the flavors of the ice cream really come through. So that is why I like gelato a lot better than ice cream.
So gelato is also served at a slightly higher temperature than ice cream meaning it melts fast and that is why we're gobbling it down really quickly right now.
Mmmhhhmm. Yours is already melting. It sure is.
And how about that price point for that delicious little treat we enjoyed?
Okay, so my medium sized cone was two fifty and Sam's was three fifty. And those prices are in Euros. And also a gelato is really easy to find in just about any city. Just as we were walking down the street we came across maybe like four or five different shops, so try it out the next time you're in Italy.
This is part of our Travel in Italy series. We're making a series of videos showcasing Italian culture, Italian arts, Italian foods, Italian religion, Italian cuisine and Italian people.
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All photos and video taken by Samuel Jeffery (Nomadic Samuel) and Audrey Bergner (That Backpacker).
Music in this video courtesy of Audio Network