Gelato Ice Cream

Gelato is a word that seems to crop up more and more in everyday life and what we generally mean by it of course is Italian ice cream. The making of gelato, which is believed to have originated in Northern Italy, has a tradition that goes back a long way - to Roman times in fact. Then there's gelato made with water - sorbetto which originates from Southern Italy - another world of ice cream in itself!

I've visited Northern Italy, tasted real gelato there and also eaten gelato in Italian gelataria in other countries and I can vouch for how different it is to any other ice cream. The photo right is one I took of a wonderful gelataria in Zandvoort (Netherlands). Owned and operated by an Italian family, it is patronised not only by tourists but the local population too - which is always a good sign.

However, you don't have to travel to Italy or indeed even outside your home to enjoy good gelato as you can make it yourself. Here is a vanilla gelato (vaniglia gelato) recipe to try, one of the most popular gelato flavors; other popular ones include strawberry (fragola), chocolate (cioccolato) and banana. I've been busy preparing a few more gelato recipes and hopefully they will be live on the site very soon.

For anyone interested in more detailed information about what makes gelato ice cream different, I have a dedicated Gelato web page that might help give some insight.