When choosing where to study abroad, I’d be lying if I said food was not a factor. The blood sausage in Cork and the souvlaki in Athens surely gained my attention, but ultimately my love of pasta and ice cream won out. However, since living in Rome I’ve quickly realized the sweet frozen treat is not synonymous with ice cream. Gelato, which translates to “frozen” in Italian, is a staple of the Italian food scene, with small shops selling it every few feet in Rome (literally!). So, I got to wondering, where did this love story, that rivals even that of Romeo and Juliet, between Italians and gelato begin?
To truly understand, I decided to start from the beginning. Penny Mincho of The International Wine and Food Society explains the birth of gelato started to take shape around 3000 BC, when crushed ice with flavorings was enjoyed by Asian peoples. Gelato today is much more than crushed ice, but hey, everyone’s gotta start somewhere, right? When Roman emperors and Egyptian pharaohs caught wind of this treat centuries later, they wanted in. They began eating ice with sweetened fruit juice, and it wasn’t long until other countries got a taste. The Florentine Medici Family of Italy is credited with serving frozen desserts at banquets and events, including the future King of France’s wedding in 1533 and a
visit from the King of Spain in the late 1500s. Proving to be good enough for royalty, these frozen desserts continued to gain popularity and evolve.
Bernardo Buontalenti was employed by the Medici family, and because he produced a creamy frozen dessert that is close to the dairy-based gelato known today, he is considered the father of modern gelato. However, Mincho explains it was Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli who made gelato famous. He was from Palermo, Sicily, and after opening a café in Paris in 1694, his frozen treat gained so much attention that it spread throughout Europe. Over the next few centuries, Italians truly established their love for the dessert that grew from seeds planted by their own emperors, and it wasn’t long until the streets of Rome were filled with cafés and carts where gelato could be bought.
Isn’t that just a sweet revelation? Learning about gelato's history fascinated me and made me realize gelato is far more than just a dessert to tempt tourists to the country of Italy and the city of Rome. With this in mind, I became curious about what an Italian citizen would say when asked, “What makes gelato so good?” My friend Nicole, who has lived in Rome her whole life, was almost too eager to answer. “Gelato is amazing, and it can make any day better, especially a hot one!” We laughed in agreement, but she added one note of clarification. “But, even though the gelato in Rome is great, the best is in Veneto. It just tastes better.” She couldn’t elaborate when I asked her to, she just insisted the taste is simply better. So, I found myself asking a new question; Does gelato differ between Italian regions?
Apparently, Nicole was onto something with her evaluation. According to Catherine Sabino of Forbes, having 20 regions means many of Italy’s most well-known dishes have been interpreted in a variety of ways, and gelato is no exception. Although the available flavors of gelato are typically the same no matter the region, the recipes can vary. In the Cadore area of Italy, which is found in the region of Veneto that Nicole mentioned, milk-based gelatos have a higher percentage of cream. Meanwhile, in the area in and around Florence, gelato is made with a higher concentration of eggs, and in Southern Italy, gelato contains more sugar. I’ve only had the pleasure of enjoying gelato in Rome and Florence so far, but perhaps I’ll need to take a trip to Cadore to taste the difference myself.
As I told my family in New Jersey about my fascinating education in the history and recipes of gelato over facetime, they laughed a bit. “Only you could take the fun out of ice cream,” my older brother quipped. I rolled my eyes but promptly corrected him. Gelato is not ice cream. “Sure it is, it comes on a cone doesn’t it?” he retorted. Although he may be right, the reality is gelato and ice cream and separated by some key characteristics. Lisa Wartenberg of healthline cites their origins, nutritional profiles, and textures as being a few ways for gelato and ice cream to establish themselves as independent from one another.
As I’ve explained, the gelato today, which Italians and tourists alike know and love, originated in Italy. On the contrary, although no one person is recognized as the inventor of ice cream, the first versions of it are said to have come from ancient China, when King Tang of Shang mixed buffalo milk, flour, and ice for dessert. While ice cream is officially recognized as a dairy product by the Food and Drug Administration, with at least 10% of its calories derived from fat, gelato usually has a lower fat content (around 4-9%) but a higher amount of sugar. As far as textures are concerned, anyone who has tried both desserts will likely agree gelato is silkier and denser while ice cream is softer and lighter. This is at least partially due to ice cream’s higher air content.
So, while my time in Rome has proven gelato is a source of happiness after a long day or a popular subject of Instagram posts, I know now it took centuries and experimentation for gelato to claim this role in Italy and beyond. The next time I order my favorite flavor, biscotti e crema, I’ll enjoy it, even more, knowing how gelato (not ice cream!) rose to fame.
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