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Gelato tastes better than ice cream, a group of tasters enthusiastically agreed last week after trying the Italian-style gelato at Run Agrounds, a coffee,
pastry and gelato shop in Cape Coral.
“I’m very surprised,” said Carole Lawrence of Sanibel. “It’s richer tasting with a wonderful creamy texture, like velvet. You would never believe it’s
healthier than ice cream.”
For Richard Achilles, an avowed ice cream aficionado who had never tasted gelato, the tasting was an eye-opener. “I didn’t know what to expect
but it wasn’t this. This gelato is way better than any ice cream.”
None of this praise surprised Todd Johnson, owner/partner of the Cape Harbour Dining Group that owns the busy little shop. He challenged me on
Facebook to a taste test after I wrote there that I was dreaming of eating pistachio gelato on my upcoming trip to Italy.
“We make 12 pans of gelato daily and to make it even better, we pasteurize our own milk base for 48 hours before individually flavoring it, which gives
the gelato a much creamier texture,” he explained.
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The base ingredients and flavorings for the gelato come from Italy, via an Italian company based in Reggio Emilia. Another secret? Run Agrounds boasts
a special Italian-made case that keeps the fresh gelato at a perfect 4 degrees above zero.
Because gelato is served warmer than ice cream, the flavor hits the taste buds faster, offering intense and creamy flavors and making “cold headaches” a thing
of the past.
Most surprisingly, gelato has a lower fat content than ice cream even though it tastes exactly the opposite with richer, more intense flavors.
Ice cream, with its higher fat content, can be stored in a freezer for months. Artisan gelato, like that at Run Agrounds, holds its peak flavor and texture for
only several days. This is why you can’t buy this kind of gelato at a grocery store and why Chef Todd recommends that if you buy gelato to take home,
you enjoy it that day and let it sit out of the freezer before serving.
Chef Todd was confident that his gelato would stand up to any Italian gelato I would taste on my trip. Turns out it did ….
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