From Lavender to Wild Spinach: Flavors of Italian Gelato
By Candice Michalowicz and Christine Meloni, NCLRC

When one thinks of the culinary delights of Italy, what comes to mind?
The list would definitely be long but let’s go immediately to the most delicious, the most refreshing, and the most satisfying of all – gelato!

Gelato in Italian means frozen or very cold, and it is usually translated in English as "ice cream." Gelato and ice cream are not really synonymous. Gelato is softer and has a more intense flavor. And, believe it or not, it has half the fat and calories of ice cream. While Italians used to eat gelato almost exclusively in the summer months, they now enjoy it throughout the year. It can still be considered a seasonal treat, however. Seventy-five percent of the gelato eaten in Italy today is consumed between May and September, according to the latest statistics of the Associazione delle Industrie Dolciarie Italiane. While Italians can now easily find pre-packaged gelato in their local supermarkets, they still prefer to enjoy the treat while seated in a gelateria (ice cream parlor) rather than in their own homes. The number of flavors has increased dramatically over the past few years, but most Italians still prefer the traditional flavors. According to a recent poll, the most popular are the following:

Table 1. What is your favorite flavor of gelato?

While in Italy recently, we decided to carry out a mini-research project. How many different flavors of gelato could we discover? We visited gelaterie in four Italian cities - Rome, Milan, Turin, and Florence - and listed the flavors. We encountered exotic flavors such as lavanda (lavender), ricotta in salsa di fichi (ricotta in fig sauce), and profumi di Sorrento (perfumes of Sorrento) as well as unusual ones such as parmigiano (Parmesan cheese), pomodoro (tomato), cioccolato al peperoncino (chocolate with hot chili peppers), and spinaci selvatici (wild spinach). Italians divide flavors into two categories, gusti di frutta (fruit flavors) and le creme (the creams). We found 48 fruit flavors and 131 creams for a total of 179 flavors. If you wish to see the listing with: Fruit Flavors, Chocolate Flavors, Vegetable Flavors, and Cheese Flavors, download them here.

If you go to Italy and discover additional flavors, please send an e-mail to Christine

For a complete list of the 179 flavors, go to Candice’s blog at http://candicealdente.blogspot.com. If you teach Italian, you may use our lists to create vocabulary lessons.

Authors

Candice is an art history major at the George Washington University. She spent a semester in Rome studying art, learning Italian, and eating gelato. She works at the National Capital Language Resource Center in Washington, DC.

Christine lived in Italy for many years and returns there often. She is the editor of the Culture Club, an online environment with cultural resources for teachers of Italian and other foreign languages, at http://nclrc.org/cultureclub.

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