Fragole, limone, pesca e menta... - raspberry, lemon, peach, and mint... - traditional flavors of Italian summer gelato.

With temperatures reaching all-time highs, we are keeping cool with refreshing Italian gelato. Discover the history of Italian creamy, fruity, fudgy gelato while tasting your way through Italy.

Whether you're a gelato aficionado or a novice, this newsletter promises the scoop with a sprinkle of news and where to find the best in Italy.

There's also a special recipe for Jackie O's favorite Italian gelato from my cookbook, "It's a Dream Place - Stories & Recipes of Food, Love and the Amalfi Coast."

From Italy with love, we share our love of gelato.

Enjoy!

Lauren

_______________

Gelato!

by Vito Natale Mario Lorusso

Signor Lorusso loved gelato so much he wrote a poem on what he called, "A riot of goodness."

Cremoso e vellutato,

delizia del palato,

si scioglie fra i denti

per la gioia dei gaudenti.

Alla vaniglia o al cioccolato,

oh, piacevole peccato!

Tripudio di bontà,

oh dolce voluttà!

Brividi intensi

scuotono i sensi,

quando la papilla

incontra la vanilla.

Al gelato dedico questi versi,

prima che inizi a sciogliersi,

poiché la sua dolcezza

scaccia via la tristezza.

In English -

Creamy and velvety,

the delight of the palate,

it melts between your teeth

for the joy of pleasure-seekers.

vanilla or chocolate,

oh, pleasant sin!

Riot of goodness,

oh, sweet pleasure!

Intense chills

they shake the senses,

when the taste buds

meet vanilla.

I dedicate these verses to ice cream,

before it starts to melt,

since its sweetness

chase away the sadness.

_______________

La Storia di Gelato,

The History of Gelato

From its ancient origins, gelato has captured people's hearts everywhere -beginning with the Roman Empire - around 70 AD when Pliny the Elder crushed ice with honey and fruit juices, and mixed it into a firm, frozen treat.

In 1565, during the court of Caterina de' Medici in Florence, Bernardo Buontalenti made history when he created a frozen sorbet using snow, salt (whose physical law lowers the temperature), lemons, sugar, and egg whites. He wowed the Queen, and soon after her lavish dinner parties became the talk of the town.

In modern times, to be an artisan gelato maker there are a few simple but strict rules that must be followed. First, an artisan maker must produce gelato daily using only a few simple seasonal fresh ingredients mixed and creamed in an official kitchen following the official criteria set for the process. The process is controlled regularly by a team of experts to keep standards high.

Stracciatella

Stracciatella is a delicate blend of cream whipped gently with pieces of dark chocolate and fior di latte, literally translating to the flower-of-the-milk. The protagonist in this recipe is the fior di latte - you cannot make this recipe without it. The delicious Stracciatella was invented in 1961 by restaurateur, Enrico Panattoni (1927–2013). He was originally from Altopascio in Tuscany, then moved to Bergamo in Lombardy during the 1940s. In Bergamo, he purchased the Caffé La Mariannanear in the Porta Sant'Alessandro, invented the recipe for this unique gelato, and became known as the Father of Stracciatella. Today, Stracciatella is served throughout Italy in every gelateria!!!

_______________

Our Favorite Gelaterias

in Bella Italia

Join us on a Cooking Vacations' culinary tour, www.Cooking-Vacations.com and learn how to prepare traditional local recipes and gelato while discovering the history of food, wine, art, and music.

Travel with us in Italy and discover our favorite gelaterias!!!

Pasticceria Savoia

Via Matteo Camera, 2, in Amalfi

Gelateria Buonocore Capri 

Via Vittorio Emanuele 35, in Capri

Giolitti

Via Uffici del Vicario, 40, in Rome

Edoardo 

Piazza del Duomo, 45/R, in Florence

Gelateria La Carraia

Piazza Nazario Sauro, 25/r, in Florence

Gelateria al Cassaro

Via Vittorio Emanuele, 214, in Palermo

Al Gelatone di Peppe Cuti

Via dell'Autonomia Siciliana, 96/98, in Palermo

La Delizia Gelateria

Via Dammuso, 57, in Palermo

Gelateria La Kala

Piazza Fonderia, 8, in Palermo

Don Diego

Via Luigi Pirandello, 1, in Taormina 

Gelateria Nico

Dorsoduro, Zattere 922, in Venice

The Art of the Gelateria

In Italy, gelaterias are as common as caffés. But how can you distinguish authentic artisan ones from the tourist traps? Spotting a genuine one in Italy is considered an art form, and we have a few tips we'd like to share with you.

When ordering a gelato, look for color. Since gelato must be made with natural seasonal fruit, its color is the most important sign. Hues that match the fruits' color show that the gelato is pure and contains no artificial colorants. Order a flavor in the season - in the spring, try strawberry, raspberry, cherry, apricot, and lemon flavors. In summer, go for peach, watermelon, melon, jasmine, lavender, pear, passion fruit, and fig. In autumn, the best scoop to order is apple and cinnamon, grape, walnut, salted butter and chocolate, coffee, chestnut, and pumpkin. Winter flavors are citrus, licorice, dark chocolate, and pomegranate. And if you cannot decide on just one flavor, you can ask for multiple scoops with different flavors.

In Italy, artisan gelato is whipped and slowly churned, incorporating less air and resulting in a dense, creamier texture.

Enjoy your gelato-tasting adventure and let us know your favorite flavors!!!

Gelato al Limone

Italian Ice Cream

A recipe loved by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis loved lemon gelato. She always ordered lemon gelato during her summer stays on Capri.

Try Jackie's favorite recipe in my cookbook, "It's A Dream Place - Stories & Recipes of Food, Love and the Amalfi Coast."

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

3 tablespoons finely grated organic lemon zest

80g (6 1/2 tablespoons) sugar

140 mL (1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon) heavy cream

120 mL (1/2) cup whole milk

Preparation

Place the cream and milk in a cold fridge or freezer for 20 minutes before using. Place the sugar and lemon zest in a bowl, then mix with an electric mixer. Next, add the lemon juice. Once that is blended in, add the milk and cream, and mix for another 5 minutes at medium speed. Place the mixture into a gelato-making machine for 60 minutes. When done, serve immediately or place in the freezer.



Discover More Recipes

in Lauren's Cookbook

Safe Summer Travels!

Thank you for reading, and see you soon in sunny Italy!!!

Lauren