Gelato

Is gelato Italian for ice cream or is it something different altogether? The answer you get depends on who you ask. What is gelato? It is a frozen dessert, not to be confused with either granita or Italian ice. So far, so good. What flavors does it come in? Pretty much any flavor. Traditional flavors such as chocolate, fior di latte, fruits and nuts. Interesting things such as chocolate mango and gorgonzola. Is it made with milk or cream? Here the answer can get interesting. At one of our absolute favorite gelateria, Tropical Ice in Rome, their chocolate fondant (to die for, by the way) contains NO dairy of any kind and man is it good! On the other hand, most gelato does contain dairy. One significant difference is the fat content. Gelato typically contains half or less of the fat of ice cream. Which is better, gelato or the equivalent flavor of ice cream? Better is subjective - when in Rome .... High quality, premium ice cream OR gelato is hard to top on a hot summer day and I will take whichever is available.

Here in Viterbo there are several shops which are widely acknowledged as "the best in town". The first is Gelart in the Piazza della Erbe, less than half a kilometer away. Then there is Antica Latteria which has two locations. The one downtown sells just gelato while the one a few hundred meters from us is a true latteria, selling the whole range of cheese, milk and yogurt as well as gelato. Which one is better might just depend on the time of year. During the SUMMER, Gelart has a much wider selection and it is open across far more hours including the traditional, early-afternoon siesta period which is perfect for a coppa di gelato. However, they are further away and their prices are almost 1/3 higher so in the WINTER Antica Latteria is a better place to go. Especially since during the off season their hours are almost identical and Gelart cuts back on variety so that the selection of flavors is essentially the same. But, stand alone gelateria are a losing proposition during the colder months and so we have frequently found ourselves out wandering the town, wanting gelato and discovering that all of the stand alone shops are closed for the day. What is a gelato junkie like Amy to do? A newer discovery which could trump the big two even during the summertime is Taverna Etrusca, a small restaurant on a side street off Via Cavour. It turns out they have truly wonderful, homemade gelato with a wide selection which is reasonably priced, essentially midway between the other two shops I have talked about. However, perhaps the biggest surprise was a shop in the food court at Tuscia Mall where we do our grocery shopping at the Ipercoop. We haven't sampled many of their flavors, but it turns out they have one of the best chocolate fondants that Amy has ever had. It will be interesting to compare it to Tropical Ice which has set the standard for chocolate fondant for literally years. The comparison can never be direct since the two shops are separated by 3 hours of travel. Gelato woulod never last that long if either Amy or I was carrying it!