Gelatto is one of my favorite things to eat, especially on a warm summer night. And Georgia has plenty of those hot, sticky, humid summer nights that require slow movement, slow talking and of course gelato as a primer. So what is gelato? And where did it come from? Gelato is milk and sugar combined with additional flavors like fruits or chocolate or nuts. Gelato typically has less than 55% air so that it has a dense and luxurious texture. Gelato made without milk, but in the same process, is sorbetto (sorbet). But I love the fat and therefore go for gelato 9 out 10 times when given the choice. Surprisingly the butterfat (milk fat) content for gelato is only 5-8% whereas traditional North American ice cream runs in the range of 10-18% (god bless Ben and Jerry’s). This higher percentage of butterfat is due in large part to the increased amount of cream used in N.A. ice cream.
So where did gelato come from? If you dig a little bit in the past history has two interesting anecdotes. The Chinese not only created paper and gun powder, but they created the first ice cream machine using rock salt in the agitation process to harden the shaved ice or granita that they were making over 2000 years ago. It is reported that Marco Polo brought not only pasta back to Italy but ice cream as well. Though there is good evidence that ice cream was being made and eaten by Roman emporers centuries before Marco Polo went on his global tour. Sorbetto was most likely introduced to southern Italy via the Arabs who also brought with them sugarcane. The Arabs had a long history of using mountain ice combined with sugar and fruit to make Sharbat (sorbet).
And today we have the Italians to thank for the beautiful advances in this dulce that we now can enjoy nearly everywhere. But not all gelatos are made equal. As with all great food you have to start with excellent base products in order for the finished product to be truly amazing. At Oh Gelatohhh they only use real fruit and traditional Italian techniques in making their gelato. And they hold true to standard Italian classics like Ricotta and Fig, Straciatella, Gianduja and Dulce de Leche.
I sat outside on a bench at City Market Ellis Square in downtown Savannah and enjoyed my delicious serving of Ricotta and Fig gelato. It dripped slowly down my hands as I tried to savor the experience for as long as possible. Tropical storm Fay was still brewing to the south and had already thrown thunder heads up to Georgia as a precursor to the coming rains and the sky was pastel pink, purple and blue on the tips of these giants thunder clouds that stretched across the horizon. Thankfully the clouds were accompanied by a cool breeze and I sat listening to music at Ellis Square and enjoyed a fantastic gelato.
The moral of my tale: search out the best gelato that you can. Sit outside on a hot summer nightand. Let it run down your fingers like you were a little child. Return to a simpler time in life (for at least five minutes) and enjoy the gift of milk, sugar and fruit. Oh ya, and if you are in Savannah stop in at Oh Gelatohhh.
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