Gelato! And Other Frozen Italian Delights

By Bob Brady, 24-time traveler from Braintree, MA

Over the course of three wonderful O.A.T. Italy trips, I’ve gone from Sicily all the way up the Stivale (boot) to its northern border with Switzerland. The land of my maternal grandparents lived up to its nickname of Bel Paese or "Beautiful Country."

This traveler’s love for Italian treats is so great that he even brought home his leftover gelato cups from O.A.T.’s Sicily's Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions adventure for some sweet souvenirs.

A visit to Italy provides the adventure traveler with an abundance of enriching experiences covering history, culture, nature, the arts, cuisine, and person-to-person interactions. All of these encounters are facilitated and enhanced by O.A.T.’s expert Trip Experience Leaders and informative local guides.

One popular facet of each of these tours occurs when the leader and/or local guide includes an unscheduled break on the official itinerary to expose the group to a favorite local purveyor of an area delicacy. Given much of Italy’s warm Mediterranean climate, oftentimes the stop involves the sampling of a refreshing frozen concoction.

This sweet snow cone-like dessert was the perfect treat for cooling off in the warm weather.

The Sicily visit introduced me to Granita Siciliana, a semi-frozen dessert that originated on the island. While somewhat related to sorbet and Italian ice, it differs in its snow-like texture and distinctive flavor. A blend of sugar, water and a variety of fresh fruit, true granita is handmade in a manner that results in a flaked, crystalline composition. The finished product delivers a crunching sensation when spooned into the mouth, followed by a delicious taste as it melts. Granita has become popular well beyond its source of origin and can even be found here at home. However, whether because of the local recipe and ingredients, its manner of production and/or the ambience of a Sicilian setting, experiencing of a cup of granita elsewhere is just not the same. Likewise for the Sicilian pizza slice that I consumed before enjoying my granita dessert!

In Rome, Bob enjoyed this lemon coconut grattachecca from a family shop.

The best place to sample a grattachecca, a unique traditional summertime Roman shaved ice drink, is in the Trastevere section of Italy’s capital city while wandering among its many street kiosks. This sweet snow cone-like dessert was the perfect treat for cooling off in the warm weather. Some contend that the Italian drink can be traced back to ancient Rome where snow would be gathered and transported from the mountains to make this delicacy. A debate over authenticity exists between those vendors that utilize traditional methods versus others that have adopted a so-called "hygienic" procedure. The "old way" involves hand shaving ("gratta") a large block of ice (the "checca") with a tool (a "raschietto") that resembles a wood plane. "Modern" purveyors, claiming sanitary benefits, employ mechanical ice crushing machines which, not incidentally, also aid in a quicker production to facilitate customer turnaround. I paid a free-time evening visit to Alla Fonte d’Oro, a well-known family-run kiosk established in 1913. There, I purchased a large lemon and coconut grattachecca to enjoy as I strolled along the banks of the Tiber River at sunset.

If you’re in need of a caffeine pick-me-up and a cool-down snack, crema al café is the perfect choice.

Faced with typically hot summer weather but with an overriding love of coffee, Neapolitan housewives in the 1800s came up with a way to prepare a chilled dessert variety to offset the day’s heat and humidity. Evolving from secret family recipes, its original name was Cafè dell Nonno ("Grandfather’s Coffee"). Now called crema al Caffè or iced coffee cream, and popular throughout the country, the basic version consists of three ingredients—coffee, whipping cream and icing sugar—along with a careful mixing and cooling process. Coffee bars along city streets attract locals and tourists to the tasty treats. A fast food version of Grandfather’s Coffee has even found its way onto the menu at McDonalds Italia. A Trip Experience Leader-sponsored crema al Cafè stop provided the perfect re-energizing afternoon dessert break in between our itinerary destinations.

I’ve saved the best for last—Gelato! "Gelato" is the Italian word for "ice cream." However, the authentic artisanal frozen treat found served throughout the country’s gelaterias bears little resemblance to its English translation counterpart. While similarly named products are sold worldwide, enjoying a gelato in Italy remains a desired bucket list gastronomic delight. For those who have taken an O.A.T. trip to Ireland as I have done, this experience is on a par with having a Guinness in a small local Irish pub or at the company’s St. James’s Gate Brewery— you can’t replicate it back home as much as you try!

This bright and colorful gelateria was an exciting stop for Bob and his fellow travelers.

Gelato features a lower fat and sugar content than ice cream. A denser texture is produced by slow churning the ingredients, and it is served at a slightly warmer temperature, yielding a melt-in-your mouth creaminess. The best way to enjoy gelato is having it served in a small tub using a tiny plastic shovel-like spoon. Gelaterias offer a wide array of selections and free samples are generously provided upon request. It’s hard to limit yourself to one flavor and so easy to request multiple scoops of a variety of flavors!

All three of my O.A.T. trips to Italy featured diversions to gelaterias but the most recent one involved a perfect storm of gelato-lover travelers with Trip Experience Leaders possessing a similar passion and a personal knowledge of the best purveyors all along the tour route. Our quest began on Northern Italy’s Genoa and Cinque Terre pre-trip extension led by Eleonora Albini, continued into the main portion under the guidance of Armando Disanto and ended at the Venice post-trip with Julia Bridges.

As part of the orientation when visiting a new locale, our leader would be queried by members of the group as to the locations of recommended gelaterias nearby. Often on an introductory walk we’d be led by such shops for future reference. It became an afternoon expectation that we’d have a gelateria break in between site visits, especially given not too subtle pleas that we made to our leader. During free evenings, it was not unusual to wander into a shop and find other fellow travelers already seated and enjoying a gelato "nightcap."

Even the dogs of Italy get to enjoy their own version of gelato.

In addition to their fondness for gelato, Italians are devoted to their pet dogs. This combination has led to some gelaterias posting large signs that advertise "Gelato Per Cani," a special blend adapted to the canine palate. In addition to offering gelato in various sized cups and cones, one inventive establishment in the Navigli district of Milan created a "Gelato Burger" to attract customers.

Italians sure do get creative with their frozen treats—this gelato burger is just one of many delights you can find.

The trip’s "frozen highlight" took place in the fishing village of Varenna on the shore of Lake Como. There, Armando took us to Gelateria Riva di Riva Duilio for our daily fix. Reflective of its highly regarded reputation, the gelateria’s inner wall exhibited the motto, "Ogni gusto una poesia"—"Every taste a poem." Our group filled the tiny shop, crowding the counter to view its many refrigerated options. The variety of homemade flavors was overwhelming, even when ordering multiple scoops. Some of us quickly crafted a strategy of partnering with others to maximize our ability to enjoy as many selections as possible. As an added bonus, the proprietor gave us a guided tour of his kitchen where the gelato is made. The facility was so small as to only allow a couple of us at a time to view the process. With our overflowing cups and cones in hand, we sat on the stairs beside the shop to enjoy our treats and view Italy’s picturesque third-largest lake.

Wanting to preserve the memories of this aspect of my Italian adventures, I came upon a novel idea. Obviously, I couldn’t take gelato back to the United States but I could save the colorful small tubs that it was served in. I always carry ziplock bags in my daypack and I was able to use one to store cups until I returned to the hotel to cleanse them. Small, lightweight and stackable, they were easy to place into my suitcase for transport home. I now have a display of the cups on a shelf with other items from trips that aid me in recalling fond travel memories.

Savor the frozen delights that Bob raves about when you travel on O.A.T.’s Sicily's Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions adventure.