THE WAY OF GELATO: PREPPING FOR ROME 1

Carol and I planned a September trip this year (2025) to Rome for 10 days with our son Matt, a videographer who lives up the coast in Sebastopol, CA. We spent a week with Matt at his house, Casa Azul, to gestate plans for the trip. Below, we are sitting in his courtyard as the sun sets, leading us to adopt a dreamy pose.

Bill and Carol, Casa Azul, Sebastopol CA

​This trip is to be unlike previous trips to Rome when we spent a lot of time visiting heavyweight attractions like the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, etc. This trip will be more laid-back, focusing on neighborhoods, some churches and museums, and (perhaps mostly) food. As for the latter, I normally scout restaurants and local specialties. This time, we are gung-ho for gelato, pizza and pasta. Much of the excitement in travel is in the anticipation and planning but much is also in eating. Here’s what I learned about gelato.

A Brief History of Gelato

​The evolution of frozen delicacies progressed over centuries through experimentation with various ingredients and techniques. A blend of fact, legend and myth provides a rich back-story for gelato. The harvest and storage of ice in pits and houses (called Yakhchāl) goes back thousands of years in Mesopotamia and China. ​

Yakhchāl, Kashan, Iran

​At some point in history, people learned that adding salt to ice both melts the ice and lowers its freezing point below 0 C (“freezing point depression”), thereby sucking heat away from and freezing objects that it surrounds. The earliest examples in Asian and Arab lands were products analogous to granita and sorbetto/sorbet/sherbet (from the Arabic word scharbat). These practices were transplanted to Sicily by Moorish overlords during the golden years of their occupation of the island between the 9th and 11th centuries. ​

Neviere, Monte Lauro, Sicily

​Nivaroli were persons who stored snow from Mount Etna, the Madonie mountains and elsewhere in ice houses resembling stone igloos and called neviere (“snow houses”). The Via del Ghiaccio (“Ice Road”) at Monte Cammarata in Agrigento features 15th century neviere built for snow conservation. The gathering, preservation and transport of snow (the “snow trade”) comprised a significant set of economic activities such that a common saying was: “A good snowfall saves the year.” 

​Nivaroli used snow or ice with salt to freeze a combination of water, honey, fruit or flowers. In the 16thcentury, Sicilian invention of the sherbet-maker (pozzetto) allowed separation of the ice from the sherbet base. The pozzetto was a wooden barrel with a zinc container and hand-cranked blades to freeze and texture the dessert base. Sugar eventually replaced honey as a sweetener and had other advantages as well. Egg added richness and served as an emulsifier to bind the fat and water, with the eventual inclusion of dairy with milk and cream. Ecco gelato!

The pozzetto in action

Cosimo Ruggeri

​The outlines of contemporary gelato emerged during the Renaissance in Florence. Cosimo Ruggieri (died 1615), an Italian astrologer, alchemist and practitioner of occult arts, was an influential advisor to Catherine de Medici. He produced an early Fior di Latte (“flower of milk”) flavor using only milk, cream and sugar. 

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Bernardo Buontalenti

​​Florentine Bernardo Buontalenti (1531-1608), an architect at the Medici court and engineer who acquired a monopoly on the import of ice and snow to Florence, advanced the gelato project further and created an egg-cream version in the mid-16th century. 

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Catherine de’ Medici

​​Catherine de’ Medici’s (1519-1589) marriage in 1533 to Henry of Orleans, the future King Henry II, ensured its presence in France. 

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Francesco Procopio Cutè

​Access to such delicate treats was generally limited to the wealthy. The historical record indicates the first appearance of commercially available gelato in Paris in the 17th century. Sicilian immigrant Francesco Procopio Cutò (aka Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli) introduced it in 1686 at his café Le Procope. This became a famous literary coffeehouse that today remains the oldest existing café in Paris. It was frequented by luminaries like Diderot, Montesquieu, Verlaine, & Voltaire. Cutò’s grandfather had invented a machine to produce sorbet using snow or ice and salt and Procopio adapted it for his own purposes. As a result of his marketing success, many have cited Procopio as the “Father of Italian gelato.”

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Café Le Procope, Paris

Gelato and Ice Cream

Many people are unfamiliar with specific differences between Italian gelato and the ice cream that is popular in the US and other countries. While both products are frozen and dairy-based, in Italy gelato is not merely an Italian name for the same ice cream that is popular in the US. In Italy, it refers to a product with specific characteristics that owns the Italian market. The word itself, however, only means “frozen” and one can often find other “frozen” products like sorbetto and granita in the same gelateria. Italian law, however, does not protect or regulate use of the term gelato. Custom, though, can be even stronger than law. That is why the title of this post adopts “the way of” idiom to describe Italian gelato as a frozen dairy product with Italian characteristics. It is an expression borrowed from the Japanese concept of Bushido, which refers to informal (but binding) virtues and codes that apply to a specific role in life.
 
In the US, on the other hand, gelato can indeed be ice cream by another name. There are no US rules about gelato, but the FDA does have rules about ice cream that mandate minimum levels of milkfat (10%) and milk solids (20%). Since Italian gelato has 4-9% milkfat, in the US it would fall in the same category as Dairy Queen’s “soft serve” (5%). In both countries, analysis is confused by the frequent use of empty marketing terms like artigianale, naturale, produzione propria, or fatto à mano.

​To a great extent, American confusion about gelato and ice cream arises from the fact that the typical American experience with gelato is mainly with American grocery store products whereas in Italy it comes via bona fide gelaterie that dot the cityscape. In the US, the distribution system rules the roost. Gelato products sold in American grocery stores are formulated for American tastes and are held in freezers that must be kept colder than 0F (-18C). Italian gelato is best stored at 5-14F. Therefore, most US gelato is formulated so it doesn’t become a brick of ice overnight. As it undergoes this transition, it becomes similar to ice cream. American consumers also appreciate the taste and texture of high levels of milkfat from cream. 

​Consequently, gelato sold at groceries in America is not sufficiently unlike American ice cream to achieve true differentiation. It cannot replicate Italian gelato which consists only of milk, some cream, sugar and flavorings like vanilla bean, nuts, fruit and chocolate. Talenti, which is now owned by Unilever, includes ingredients that vary with the flavor but typically include dextrose, carob gum, guar gum, lecithin, natural flavor, egg yolks and egg. Some of their more complicated versions like “raspberry cheesecake,” “coffee chocolate chip” and “caramel cookie crunch” have ingredient lists as long as your arm. Even the product that Forbes magazine hailed in 2011 as the “best gelato in America” (Morano Gelato in Hanover, New Hampshire) included corn syrup, tapioca starch, and powdered milk. Another trendy operation, An’s Hatmakers in San Diego, receives attention for its far-out flavors and “from scratch” production but it is unclear how close the product is to the genuine gelato formula. One suspects, overall, that in the US the name gelato is often appropriated as marketing hype for products that approximate ice cream or other “frozen desserts.” No U.S. rules prevent it.

​The differences between real Italian gelato and US ice cream arise mainly from the nature and ratios of their ingredients and from processes that result in different taste profiles, texture, mouthfeel and health implications (fat and calories). A succinct comparison of gelato with ice cream is: gelato uses more milk than cream (a common ratio is 2:1) and therefore has less fat. Gelato may have a little more sugar and only occasionally egg. Gelato incorporates less air (called “overrun”), and is stored and served at a warmer temperature. In the US, many people make their own ice cream and there is tremendous variation in recipes but, in general, cream has a predominant role (and heavy cream at that, which at a minimum of 36% has twice the fat of regular cream) and egg yolks are common. 

​The lower fat content of gelato (4-9%) versus ice cream’s 14%-25% (and up) is due to its greater use of milk than cream and its infrequent use of eggs. The fat in US ice cream imparts richness and smoothness but coats the tongue and blurs the intensity of flavor on the palate.

​The higher fat content in ice cream makes it easier to whip at high speeds to incorporate air. Gelato is churned more slowly, resulting in less air incorporation (20-25%) than ice cream (50%+). Air gives ice cream a much larger volume and a creamy texture that ranges from dense and creamy (low air) to light and fluffy (high air). Lacking as much air, gelato is denser and heavier per unit of volume. Air is free, so ice cream with a lot of air is less expensive to make and is usually produced in large volumes that also carry economies of scale. With less air, less fat, and fewer other ingredients, gelato has a higher density of components that produce a more intense and vibrant flavor and a silky texture. It also accelerates gelato’s melting time while ice cream’s air and fat provide insulation for its other ingredients.

​The slightly higher sugar content in gelato (normally 15-20%) has several purposes. Different types of sugars (sucrose, glucose, dextrose, fructose, lactose) have different effects and they may be used in combination. Sugar’s sweetness enhances flavors. Sugar compensates for gelato’s lower fat, preventing formation of large ice crystals and achieving a soft texture. It acts as an anti-freeze, allowing gelato to be kept at a lower temperature.

​Gelato is stored and served warmer (5F to 14F) (-15C to -10C) than ice cream (less than 0F or -18C). Their respective serving tools reflect this difference: a scoop works best for colder and harder ice cream, while softer gelato can be sculpted and delivered with a spatula-like paddle (spatola). 

​Gelaterie sometimes leverage this pliable quality of gelato with showman-like presentations of molded display-case product, but one must beware such excessive displays that depend on additives. Since it’s warmer when served, gelato melts more quickly in the mouth, flooding the mouth’s taste-buds faster with flavor. Ice cream’s coldness numbs the taste buds and its fat coats the tongue, so its flavors take longer to register and are more subdued.

Furthermore, gelato served in a gelateria is typically fresher because it is made on-site in small batches (especially if there is a laboratorio on site). This leaves the flavors more vivid and intense than industrially-made products that achieve long shelf-life through stabilizers and emulsifiers.

​As for the consumer, gelato in cups is traditionally served with a brightly colored, small plastic shovel, the cucchiaino. These are also useful for gelato in a cone, because the warmth of a tongue licking gelato in a cone will melt it even more quickly. Some gelaterie disavow the use of cones altogether in the belief they distort the flavors of gelato.

Gelato Flavors and Regions

​The list of flavors in gelato stretches long but most are traditional. Fiordilatte is the plainest flavor (no eggs or vanilla, just milk). There is also crema (cream), cioccolato (chocolate), pistachio (pistachio), limone (lemon), fico (fig), nocciola (hazelnut), stracciatella (chocolate chip), and zabaglione (egg yolk, sugar, sweet wine). On the other hand, some shops are known for inventive flavors and combinations. The flavor scale for American ice cream sometimes strays into cartoon dimensions like Rocky Road and Moose Tracks.

​​That said, Italian food is regional and there are regional differences in the composition of gelato. For example, Sicilian gelato is often thickened with cornstarch. There is no regulation regarding the identity or proportion of ingredients. Even if the ratio of ingredients were identical, their origin and quality may vary and can deliver distinctive characteristics, viz: biodynamic eggs from Germany; Cinnamon from Ceylon; Piedmontese milk; Maltese goat milk; Madagascar vanilla; Vahlrona or Amedei chocolate; Pistachio from Bronte, Sicily; Almonds from Bari; and so on. Such precious ingredients and identities testify to a proprietor’s dedication and are often displayed in the shop. 

Searching for Gelato Vero

​Actually, however, many gelato shops in Italy lower the bar and mix commercially-made powder bases with water, jam and other additives, spinning the mixture in an ice cream maker. Some detection tips are useful to the consumer in evaluating the prospects of a gelateria. A visual tip-off of ersatz gelato is eye-popping neon colors that have no place in nature. Real pistachios are brown not bright green and bananas are off-white, not bright yellow. Vanilla without flecks is vanilla using vanillin instead of pods. Puffy mountains of product overflowing containers are impressive but likely contain additives since pure gelato collapses quickly and sits flat in its carapine (covered metal container). Fruit gelato that is not in season suggests the presence of artificial flavors (Gelateria I Caruso posts a seasonal “calendario gusti” on the wall). Decorative syrups or solids sprinkled over gelato like Christmas cookies are puffery that disguise inferior products. The number of flavors can also be a concern. A shop with 30 flavors needs a sufficient turnover to ensure that the product remains fresh during optimal storage no longer than 48 hours. Another tip is the serving tool. Shops using scoops may be selling lesser products that are harder and require a scoop or are trying to control the size of the servings. The spatola (spade) dramatically and generously slathers soft, silky gelato into cups or cones. Finally, a good gelateria will have a waiting line with mostly Italians in it.

​The challenge is to find gelaterie that source quality ingredients with inventive flavor combinations, good service and nice locations. Besides visual clues like those above, a savvy approach is to rely on the recommendations of experienced and trusted intermediaries like Katie Parla and Elizabeth Minchilli. They and others heartily recommend such gelaterie (in random order) as Giolitti, Gracchi, Neve di Latte, Fior di Luna, Fatamorgana, Gunther Rohregger, Otaleg, Del Teatro, Come Il Latte, I Caruso, and Frigidarium.