wanderlust5

The Scavi tour is really that great. IMHO.

Betsy

If you have any appreciation at all for history, the Scavi is absolutely not to be missed. Highlight of our trip to Rome a couple of years ago.

Leely

Well, I'll have to re-read old threads about the tour more carefully now. Main reason I'm taking my sister Rome is that when we were in the 4th grade her spring term paper was "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire" (she was an ambitious scholar). Sounds like she'd like the Scavi tour.

Thank you!

althom1122

I'm drawing a blank on the name of the place, but I bet some of you will know it... there's an amazing (and I think rather well known) gelato place in Florence that sells riso (rice) gelato. It is to die for - reminds me of tapioca pudding. I knew nothing about the details of the recipe that distinguish gelato, but I know what I've tasted. Vive la difference! I LOVE both ice cream and gelato!

wanderlust5

Vivoli's.

trvlite2

LOVED gelato in Italy -- at least 3 times a day! -- not easy to find the real stuff here (Midwest US) -- although there's a place on St. Armand's Circle (Sarasota) and one in the Crossroads Mall in Salt Lake City where it was yummy (and real). Is the difference because real flavors are used rather than artificial? I like ice cream, too, but ice cream is nothing like gelato.

JJBhoy

Although it's interesting to learn the differences between gelato & ice cream, I don't really think this is what Caroline was getting at in her original post.

I'm in the middle of writing the trip report for my first trip to Italy and have referred to "gelato" rather than "ice cream" even though I had no idea of the distinctions.

Why? Well, if I'm being honest there's probably a degree of pretentiousness in using the authentic "foreign" word but I also think it adds an air of authenticity & local colour.

I reckon that we frequent these boards because we love the idea of travelling & experiencing different cultures. If using the odd bit of local lingo helps to bring a report to life or raise a pang of familiarity from a past visit, I think that's a good thing.

Jim

Marilyn

I have to add my two scoops worth, and agree with all those who have said that if you think ice cream and gelato are the same, you've never had really good gelato.

ssachida

Even if gelato referes to the italian version of ice cream (a sacrilege to compare IMO), "gelato" is easier to spell/type/say than "italian recipe for ice cream"

Nutella

This discussion reminds me of a conversation of had with Italians in Italy on more than one occasion:
Them: Buon Appetito!
Me: Grazie!
Them: Senti, come se dice "Buon Appetito" in Inglese?
Me: Hmmm... Bon Apetit???

socialworker

I did not read all the msgs, so forgive me if I am repeating. Gelato is *not* ice cream. In Italy, gelato is made daily in small batches and has raw egg as an ingredient. *No* commercially prepared item made in the USA is allowed to use w/raw eggs, as eggs in this country are contaminated w/salmonella. Therefore gelato cannot be appropriately called ice cream. It is hard for me to imagine confusing the two if you have ever had the opportunity of tasting both....

HowardR

C'mon now JJBhoy, there absolutely nothing pretentious about referring to gelato as gelato! As has been pointed out so strongly on this thread, gelato and ice cream are not the same. I've yet to meet anyone who was impressed with me for using the word "gelato"!

tedgale2

Remember the Monty Python skit about the contest to find an offensive new nickname for the Belgians?

One of the options was "Let's not call them anything, let's just ignore them!"

So too with me and gelato.

What IS it with the "gelato" thing on this board? Not a day goes by.....

No-one writes comparing the succulence of beef in different regions.

Or seafood. Or mushrooms. Or foie gras.

Very little discussion of wine. No discussion of any other beverage except for the surprising interest in limoncello.

Leely

Ted, don't you read IndyTravel's trip reports?

I have never tasted foie gras as exquisite as when I imagine myself tasting it as he's described it.

As for wine, I live in No. Cal but I'd still rather drink it than talk about it. And drink it a lot. Seriously, I love all food discussions. Bring it on!

metellus

Vivoli's? It is the most overrated gelato in the universe. It's not that it isn't very good, it's just there is plenty as good or better in Europe and even here. Heck, Vivoli's in Berekley is just as good.

More to the point, there is no such think as "the best gelato place." The same place may make a great chocolate and lousy lemon. At best you can argue about the best place for a particular flavor. The best I had in Italy was a limoncello gelato at a place near the Parthenon. I went back next day for a different flavor and it was mediocre. It goes without saying that gelato can never actually be bad.

Marilyn

ted, you're kidding, right?

This forum is crawling with wine-o's and there are frequent discussions at quite a sophisticated level. Not to mention the recurrent "what's your poison" thread on the US board.

There have been a number of foie gras threads. Also cheese.

Can't recall any on mushrooms (unless you want to include truffles) or seafood or beef.

cmt

Ice cream and gelato have many similarities, but they are not identical. Ice cream must contain cream. Gelato contains milk (whole) rather than cream. Many ice creams contain eggs, but gelato does not. (Because it doesn't contain cram and egg yolks it may be easier to digest for people who don't process eggs and butterfat that well.) Besides these basic differences, there are differences in the way they're made and flavored. Gelato generally has a silkier texture than ice cream, and the flavors are far more intense, so it is different in quality and style from American "ice milk" as well.

Sorbet and granita are also not the same but are similar.

euroenvy

It is the same way sherbert is not frozen yojurt! I have made ice cream amd frozen custard..I read on line that the reason gelato is so flavorful is that the fresh natural ingredients are not hidden by the butterfat content that iced cream has. You can tell a frozen custard from iced cream or iced milk ....the cooking also melts the sugar and thickens in a way that influences the taste..I bought a good hot chocolate mix in Begium but guess what ...it doesnt taste the same because of our milk...

jahoulih

We have now had reports that gelato is special because it contains cooked eggs (wanderlust5), raw eggs (social worker), or no eggs (cmt).

I am beginning to think that gelato is a state of mind.

charsuzan

When I think "gelato" it evokes wonderful memories of my two trips to Italy and all the wondrful thing I saw and did. "Ice Cream" which I can get anytime, just does not trigger the same fantastic memories.