Where to get your gelato licks in Rome
#the daily queue for
gelato at Come il Latter | during the G8 summit in 2009, Malia and Sasha Obama
made blackberry and banana gelato in the kichen of Giolitti. Opened in 1890,
the gelateria is one of Rome’s oldest.
IN ITALY, A LAND
of such strict culinary customs that sprinkling Parmesan on your pizza is
practically a crime, only one food is excepted from the no-eating-while-walking
rule: gelato. On warm evenings, Rome’s locals stroll the cobblestoned streets,
cones and cups in hand.
However you eat it, gelato means Italian tradition-one that
differs from industrial, American-style ice cream. Gelato contains less
butterfat and less air and comes 10 degrees warmer.
About 2,000 gelaterias
exist in Rome. Most use additives, thickeners, and synthetic flavorings-yes,
even those that call themselves artigianale
(artisanal). To gauge a gelato’s quality, ask to see the list of ingredients,
says Claudio Torce, the mastermind behind one of the city’s best gelaterias. “Count how many additives
there are. Because true gelato doesn’t have a single one.”
Torce’s Il Gelato
features creative concoctions like balck sesame and chili-and-chocolate.
Natives also flock to Fatamorgana,
where all-natural flavors include combinations such as pear and Gorgonzola. For
molto rich gelato, head to Come il Latte,
whose name (“like milk”) says it all-fresh cream accounts for two-thirds of
each scoop. Top off your Sicilian pistachio with melted chocolate or
zabaglione-flavored whipped panna
(cream).
