Gelato! Even the sound of that word begins to make my mind and my tongue grow dreamy and weak!
As the weather gets warmer now I am feeling prompted to write about a desire which both Chris and I share. Gelato is eaten anytime of the year, even during the cold weather months of winter!
Our last memorable moment which involved gelato was when it was our last night with our lovely friend Raniero in Rome, as he so generously hosted us for our Rome section of our trip. He took us to a seaside town called Torvianica, which is not far from Rome, to have gelato and wander by the seaside again, as he knew we both are lured in by the sounds and excitement of the sea.
Gelato is quite different than the ice cream one would have in USA. There is more sugar in gelato and, unlike the ice cream in USA which has plenty of air , gelato has almost little or no air.
Upon entering the gelato "temple", our eyes glance immediately at the menu of flavours which are posted everywhere, but mostly we glance longingly inside the glass covered case at all the different colours and more labels of the goodies inside, with decisions spinning around overtime in our heads. I tend to go for the more adventurous flavours such as licorice, brandy , etc, but I can also have a scoop of dark chocolate to accompany the others to complete the diversity. All sorts of extra accessories such as sprinkles, creme, a cone, dried fruit, etc could be put on top, but I personally can't be bothered with all the extras. ( I fear they will drop off from the scoops and onto the ground or my shirt!)
Gelato is not a new invention or fad, as even the ancient Romans and also Ancient Egyptians had the same cravings for gelatus, which means "frozen" in Latin, as they would get the snow from mountaintops and bring it down below ground to keep it frozen. I'm not sure if I would be brave enough to try "earth" flavoured or even mountain air flavoured gelato next to my scoop of stracciatella. Maybe a "falafel flavour" gelato would be novel?
Interestingly, gelato only started to become all the rave in Italy in the 1920s - 1930s in Varese, where it was carted around in a gelato cart. Thank goodness today there are thousands of gelateria around Italy and also in many parts of the world! Which are your favourite flavours?
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