Firenze Gelato Festival!

Yes, you read the title of this post right; there IS an entire festival dedicated to gelato!!! For five days in Florence (May 25 to the 29), you can try EVERY flavor of gelato ever made. In Piazza Pitti and Piazza della Repubblica shops from all over Italy come to showcase their gelato. Each shop also showcases a "warhorse" which is their flavor of gelato they want you to try and vote on at the end of the festival. The gelato with the most votes becomes the "official flavor of the event!" On top of tasting gelato, there are demonstrations on how to make gelato as well as other seminars and workshops. It should be an extremely fun event!! For more information go to the OFFICIAL WEBSITE!

Eat away, gelato lovers!!!

-Alyssa

How To Make Gelato!

I only have three more weeks left here in Italy. What am I going to do when I get home without gelato?!?! This question had me scowering the internet for homemade gelato recipes, and while the gelato making process isn't too rigorous, it's a little hard to understand by simply reading a recipe. That's when I stumbled across "Laura in the Kitchen", a Youtube channel featuring a famous chef, Laura Vitale, showing you how to make your favorite recipes via video. And yes, gelato was one of them! I thought I would share the video with you in case any of you out there are like me and will NEED gelato in your life once you return to wherever you came from :)

Hopefully you are all as excited to go home and make gelato as I am! Keep eating Gelato!!

-Alyssa

Grey Gelato?

On my quest to find my favorite gelato flavor, I have been testing out a new flavor of gelato every week. I was told about a great gelato shop called Gelateria Santa Trinita.

They have a reputation of being one of the best gelato shops in Florence, so naturally I wanted to try their chocolate, which is my favorite flavor. However, when I got there I saw the strangest thing: grey gelato!

Although it didn't look very appetizing, I HAD to try it. It is "sesame" flavored. I got some strange looks walking around with mold-colored gelato, but it was surprisingly good! Not too sweet, but very different from anything I've tasted thus far. I highly recommend you give it a try!

-Alyssa

Gelato vs. American Ice Cream

This past week, I was lucky enough to have my parents visit me in Florence. As much as I enjoyed having them here, I have to admit I also enjoyed the luxury of eating out for the week (on their bill!)Wanting them to get the full Italy experience, I made sure we saved room for gelato after lunch one afternoon.  I brought them to one of my personal favorites in Florence, Café Ponte Vecchio, located right at the foot of the famous bridge. My dad and I got small cups, but my (often very health conscious) mom was feeling a bit more adventurous. She went for the €5 chocolate and nut dipped cone filled with cioccolato and caffe gelato.

 My dad jokingly gave her a hard time about the enormous serving size as it dripped down the sides of her cone. Her justification was that she was on vacation, treating herself, only in Italy once, blah blah blah… Anyways, this conversation got me thinking; in actuality, how bad is gelato for you? How does this Italian indulgence compare to traditional American ice cream I’m used to eating at home?

In search for my answer I stumbled upon Livestrong.com. This blog had exactly what I was looking for; a 2011 post titled “The Nutrition in Gelato & Ice Cream.” To my surprise, I learned that gelato has less calories and fat than ice cream does, although it is clearly creamier and richer than the American dessert. The difference in consistencies all has to do with the way the products are processed. With ice cream, the ingredients are constantly churning (stirring) while the mixture freezes, therefore letting air mix in. The air is what gives ice cream its light and fluffy form. On the other hand, no air is added to gelato when it is produced, which gives it a denser and creamier form. Gelato also does not contain cream (unlike American ice cream) which is why it is essentially better for you. In reality, both products are still a dessert. Sure, they could be a source of calcium, and different flavors of gelato (such as the fruit based sorbettos) contain less fat content but like any sweet, should only be consumed in moderation.

My mom and I were comforted to hear that gelato is general less fattening than the ice cream, especially since she was hooked, as was I since the first time I had a nocciola and cioccolato cone in September. We indulged in gelato several more times last week, always with the justification that my parents were only here for week. Well, I’m not sure what this means for me and my gelato habits. Four months is still considered a vacation right...

 -Jessica

Oldest Gelato Shop in Florence

According to our search, in the center of Florence the oldest Gelateria is Vivoli! It has been selling gelato since times of the WWII!!

Vivoli

Everything started in the year 1930 when Raffaello opened a creamery which later turned into a gelateria. They used to keep the gelato with containers of cold and almost frozen water, but a few years later the first bank of dry cold arrived in the 37, thanks to it, Vivoli become the meeting place for the people. A walk on Sunday with the family and then stopping for a snack in Vivoli became a routine. The ingredients and the recipes for the gelato are still the same that they used at the beginning of the business, passed down from generation to generation. It is still one of the favorite gelaterias in the center, keeping the tradition of eating ice-cream with family or friends.

Here is the web page of this gelateria www.vivoli.it

-Aracely

Best Spots in Florence to Get Gelato!

Walking through the streets of Florence you can see many different gelaterias were you can eat gelato, but the important thing is to know where to go. Even when you see gelato shops filled with tourists, that isn't always the best place to go… where locals go are the bests ones!

Asking many different locals from Florence, reading some news papers and different Italian web pages, and also tasting it helped me to make a  list of the 10 main gelaterias that have conquered lots of mouths in Florence:

Vivoli

It started as a creamery in 1930, and then just a few years later became a gelateria. It´s located in Via dell’isola delle stinche 7r, a little street close to Piazza Santa Croce. It is a local favorite, a little gelateria that has one of the best gelato of crème in town. Definitely an important spot to go and enjoy having a gelato with the locals. The prices are not that cheap in relation with the quantity of gelato that they give you, but definetly a great choice if you want to try amazing gelato.

Grom

Here we have one of the most known gelaterias that makes gelato with high quality ingredients. They base their gelato off of  the fresh fruit of  the season from the best places throughout Italy. They don´t use any colorants or artificial additives. Also, they have ingredients like the cacao or the coffee coming directly from the best places of the center of America. They are situated on the corner of Via del Campanile and Via delle Oche. www.grom.it  

Gelateria de Neri

Really close from the well known Palazzo Vecchio, it’s a small and simple gelateria which has one of the best flavors in town for a good price. You shouldn’t forget to try their real Panna Montata (whip cream)! It's delicious! The direction is in Via dei Neri, 26r.

Gelateria de Medici

This gelateria is situated in Via dello Statuto 3/5r. They have a wide variety (40 flavors) of natural and genuine flavors of gelato made with the traditional recipe. A little bit outside from the very center of Florence, but it is open late and specializes in types of chocolate. www.gelateriademedici.com 

Gelateria alla Carraia

Located in Piazza Nazario Sauro and also closet to Piazza Santa Croce! They have a good selection of flavors. It is a nice and tiny gelateria that has really good prices (1 euro) for a good portion of gelato, which is what makes them well-known.

Gelateria Perchè no

One of the oldest gelaterias in town, started in 1938, is located  in the heart of Florence. Close to Via Calzaioli, one of the most known streets. They use natural flavors and colorants with the same old reciepe as when they started to make gelato. Thay have good prices for a reasonable quantity of gelato. The exact address is Via dei Tavolini 19/r.

Gelateria Badiani

Pastry shop and gelateria, just a few steps from the center of Florence. This gelateria has a big space with a friendly and elegant atmosphere to have a gelato. It is situated in Via dei Mille 20/r.

Gelateria Carabè

They are well known because they have Sicilian granite in a wide variety of flavors. Their coffee flavor is the most famous. They also offer really innovative flavors of gelato like parmesan cheese, olive oil, and figs. You can find them in Via Ricasoli 60r and Piazza San Jacobino.

Gelat’amo

This gelateria is really famous for their flavor of Pistachio di bronte which was brought to Florence by two Calabrian boys. It doesn´t have just gelato, but also sells yogurt, crepes, parfaits, milkshakes, crushed Sicilian and Sicilian cassata. The address is Via Doni 18/r.  

Gelateria Refrescos

Located in Via Aretina al Girone, Piazza Tanucci 5/r, Viale Spartaco Lavagnini 20r, and Via Santo Stefano in pane 15r, a little out from the center of Florence. This gelateria is really good for those who love the creamy gelato..www.gelateriarefrescos.com  

Try one of them or try them all, but I guarantee you will get delicious gelato every time!

-Aracely