I look at it against the sunlight, just enough to give that little bit of extra taste, then swirl it around in my mouth and close my eyes with an mmmmm. No, I’m not gulping back some Grange Hermitage—rather, enjoying the delight of what is a world championship winning gelato, in Italy.
There’s something about letting flavour coat itself on your tongue like a velvet carpet, to close one’s eyes and pick out the bursts and subtle undertones of a finely made gelato. We can all appreciate tastes that evoke an emotional response such as satisfaction, contentment and excitement. The sweet and frozen treat—gelato—has the ability to transcend mood, depending on quality, and where and how you eat it.
What is gelato?
Isn’t it just some fancy word for ice-cream?
Well, sort of. If the term ice-cream is like saying ‘wine’, then gelato is a variety, like shiraz. With its distinct ingredients, preparation and storage methods, there are main differences to ice cream such as:
- More flavour due to less air, meaning denser concentration of ingredients
- Less fat due to using milk or skim milk rather than cream (and a type of gelato called Sorbetto/sorbet, doesn’t use any dairy at all)
- Melts faster because the ingredients are not homogenized (which is a method of milk processing, to prevent or delay natural separation of cream from the rest of the emulsion.) So? This means less chance of ice-cream headache and sore teeth!
High quality gelato is made daily, with fresh and quality ingredients. Maintaining the consistency, it is stored in a gelato freezer, which is not as cold as an ice-cream freezer, and thus gives a smoother effect.
Who invented gelato, and when?
Like most things foodie, there’s conjecture about who invented it and when. Some sources state it’s 3000 years old from China, other say it’s from 16th century Italy at the time of Catherine de Medici of Florence. Whatever the origins, over the past 200 years the process has refined to move beyond snow stored in cellars to streamlined modern techniques involving custom machinery and special freezers.
Right, so gelato really is different to ice-cream, but is it better?
That’s where a little experiment comes in. Just as there are tours for wine lovers, I had the opportunity to indulge in gelato while walking and cycling in Europe. The mission: try a different type a day in three different countries. Overall, I tried 13 flavours. Which one was the best gelato experience and why?
The answer is not purely whatever tasted best, but many factors.
How to have an excellent gelato adventure: factors to consider
—Price: the closer you get to a tourist node like the Colosseum in Rome, the higher the price and not necessarily the better the quality. The cheapest I paid for one scoop (size of woman’s bunched fist) was 70 centimes and the most was 3 euro.
—Quality: While major brands like Peters and Movenpick are good, they’re not as good as the ‘professional’ homemade stuff. Try to go for a gelateria on its own; not a gelateria/photobooth/creperie/internet café. Similar gourmet strategy to, ‘would you buy cheese from the farmer, or Kraft cheese sticks from a supermarket?’
—How to mix: if you get more than one flavour, keep to the food groups. ie. Don’t mix lemon with triple nutella. Come on, would you pour chocolate ice magic into a lemonade? And I can guarantee that mixing orange with spearmint with induce a gag reflex a la orange juice after brushing teeth.
The three basic gelato food groups are:
• The sorbets: usually fruit-based, minimal/no dairy added, relies on the whipping for creaminess: eg citrus, berries, melons
• The creamy-dreamies: usually more than one flavour but complementary, eg cookies and cream, rum and raisin
• The sweetie dearest: one spoonful is enough calorie intake to climb the stairs up Sacre Coeur ten times. These are the chocolate, nuttella, butterscotch blends.
It’s alright to mix the last two food groups together, though one scoop is more than enough to feel like your teeth will fall out. One I tried was a Nutella and Marscapone concoction with streaks of the hazelnut condiment layered through liquid sugar and cream.
—Cone or cup? I prefer the cup as you don’t have to rush the eating from a melting cone with sticky stream of melted gelato streaming down one’s arm. It’s easier to keep flavours separate too. And if you think it makes any difference whatsoever, hey, you miss out on the calories of the cone. More surface area support means less risk of a super lick dislodging the contents from the cone and ending in tears. Even from a grown man.
—How to eat? Try to sit down and enjoy the taste. Watch the tourist rabble instead walking in crowds where an errant elbow may jut its way into your triple chocolate. Don’t eat when you’re in a hurry, walking up a hill or in the sun on a super hot day. Yep I know, but the stickiness and sweetness will only leave you thirsty. Have a bottle of water instead.
—Presentation: In Paris, the gelaterists have a nifty way of presenting multiple flavours, like a rose bud unflowering that looks too pretty to eat. But go ahead anyway.
Taste: What makes a good gelato?
—Texture: Absence of ice. More tiny bubble to flavour ratio. The best example of this was in Switzerland, at a café near Lake Como. Each spoonful of the peach sorbet felt like silken bubbles coated with real peach, rather than crunchy ‘ow my teeth!’
—Reality of flavour. You know when you chew strawberry flavoured bubblegum and it doesn’t taste like strawberry? Well, when the gelato has the little seedy bits in it, and tastes like you just plucked it from a ripe bush, then that’s the stuff.
—Originality: while avocado and tomato may not be everyone’s cup of tea, certain combinations can be eye-closingly gorgeous like saffron cream, which had pine nuts in it.
France or Italy?
The answer is a tricky one. In Italy was the world champion in San Gimignano near Florence for the above-mentioned saffron cream. Was it good? Yes. Worth every centime. Mind you, the view over a Tuscan vineyard on a sunny day didn’t hurt either. And the peach scoop on the lakeshore of Lake Como after riding some ks tasted pretty good too.
The worst one I had was in a restaurant in Domodossola, Italy a coffee flavour which was icy, hard and unauthentic.
Basically, the nationality of the gelato is a minor consequence. What matters is the quality, ambience and overall gelato eating strategy
Odyssey in Australia
Being such a multicultural mish-mash, Australia is lucky to have immigrants from Italy who have brought gelato to the land of the ‘Spider’. While the thought of dropping high-grade vanilla gelato into creaming soda seems like smashing Dom Perignon to bless new ships, Australians can enjoy decent gelato.
Follow the same tips above. While it may be trickier to find the taste factor, many gourmet stores stock locally made gelato, made with care by true professionals. In Canberra there is even one man who can make any flavour you want for a minimum litreage order.
One thing Aussies do have in scoops is the vibe. There are plenty of places to sit back and watch the world while licking in ponderance, like Circular Quay in Sydney.
In these summer months, gelato is the gourmet experience to bring contentment—with a few hints it really is more than just ice-cream.
