The Joy of Gelato
Capogiro Gelato & Il Laboratorio Del Gelato
View this article with photos at The Nibble: Artisan Gelato.
CAPSULE REPORT: Gelato, Italian-style ice cream, is growing in leaps and bounds in popularity. The Nibble featured a recent article about gelato, highlighting some of the countrys top gelato artisans. Here, we return to explore two of them in depth: Philadelphias Capogiro Gelato and New York Citys Il Laboratorio del Gelato.
Sometimes people go racing out to places we have recommendedrestaurants, bakeries, ice cream shopsand come back saying they just didnt get what we were raving about. It was O.K., but not the bomb. This opens up an age-old question of what any reviewers taste viewpoint is versus your ownwhether in food, wine, music, literature, or fill-in-the-blank. While reviewers should educate you, no one can tell you what to like. Over time, you learn which writers tastes match yours and stick with them, as you learn to trust the opinions of various friends and acquaintances.
However, certain foods can be very subject to what we call the bell curve syndrome. Unlike the generally accepted attributes of a great steak or Burgundy, recipes and foods themselves vary in their appealdo you like flavor-forward dishes or subtle flavorings? Do you like star anise or complex layerings of spices? Simple dishes or complex constructions? Straightforward and classic presentations or architectural or coy ones? Mix up all these options at a good restaurant, and the dishes follow a bell curve, based on your interests and expectations. Two are might be out-of-this-world, four might be good, and might impress you as nothing special.
Thats how it is in the world of great artisanal gelato. When dedicated artisans make over 100 flavors by hand,* what you end up selecting is going to fall somewhere on the bell curve. If you only try one or two flavors, the likelihood is more that its going to be good than out-of-this-world. A food writer, on the other hand, will have tried many more flavors, so has more of a perspective on the situation. And, to loop back, thats why some readers go to a place we recommend, try one or two flavors and arent overwhelmedwhen weve tried 20 flavors and have heard the music.
*Dont expect all 100 at once: flavors are seasonal, and there may be 30 freshly-made on the day youre in the shop
About Great Gelato
Nothing will ever be anything less than very good at a great gelateria, because the ingredients are so fresh and seasonal, and everything is made by hand. If youre looking for a transformational experience, you may not find it in the vanilla and chocolatewhich, incidentally, are the most popular flavors at Il Laboratorio del Gelato (The Gelato Laboratory, in Italian)not that they wont be good. What will be eye-opening are the flavors you dont often find elsewhere, the essence of what gelato is all aboutthe intensity of flavor from fresh fruits, nuts, and other products. There, you will find truth.
The truth is, that if you lived within walking distance of a wonderful gelateria artigianale, you would do as the Italians do: the main event of the evening is not finishing dinner and flicking on the TV (or the PC), but going for a passeggiata (stroll) and a gelato. Then, youd be able to work your way through all the flavorseven Stephanie Reitanos 250-plus rather quickly, especially since few American food-lovers ever stop at one scoop, one flavor.
Feel free to call first and ask what they think are their most memorable flavors of the momentand match them to your preferences. You may increase your chances of hitting the top of the curve. But no matter what you get, it will be a wonderful gelato adventure, as authentic as if you walked into Giolitti in Romeand at your doorstep tomorrow morning.
Why These Gelatos Are Different
While these gelato contains contain much less 20% air by volume (overrun) compared to 60% in most American brands. Gelato is made in a broad variety of fruit, nut, chocolate and other flavors. Gelato also has less fat because its made with milk and only a little cream. Ice cream generally contains more cream than milk. As a result, most superpremium ice creams in the U.S. have a butterfat content of 15% to 18%; gelatos butterfat content normally runs from 4% to 14% (Ciao Bellas is 12%). The greater amount of butterfat in ice cream tends to coat the tongue and the taste buds. The lower butterfat level of gelato allows more of the flavor of the fruits, nuts, chocolate et al to shine through. In addition, gelato recipes tend to have a higher proportion of flavoring than ice cream. The end result is a heightened flavor.
They dont have the uniform density you read about in gelato. Some flavors do: Capogiros Cioccolato Scuro, bitter chocolate, is a dense wonder, reflecting the amount of cocoa and chocolate in the recipe; while hazelnut has have a more regular ice cream consistency. The sorbettos are light and ethereal in consistencyfar less dense than Sharons Sorbet, Haagen-Dazs or other artisanal brands weve experienced.
Il Laboratorio Del Gelato
Jon Snyder of Il Laboratorio del Gelato was a pioneer in the modern artisanal gelato movement. His first venture, Ciao Bella Gelato, was founded way back in 1984. After selling it five years later, attending graduate school and working on Wall Street, he returned Il Laboratorio Del Gelatoto his first love. His laboratory is a tiny storefront on Manhattans Lower East Side, right across the street from the New York Tenement Museum. Theres no room for even one tablethe front space holds just an upholstered bench in the front window that can two adults, which faces the combination freezer case and counter that holds perhaps twenty quarts of precious gelato and sorbetto. In the back, you can see two artisans making the next batches: when were there, theyre peeling and pureeing mangos. Two hand trucks of fresh strawberries arrive on their way to becoming strawberry gelato, filling the small space with the fragrance of ripe strawberries. After the fruit is pureed and mixed with milk, it is placed in a 10-quart drum, from which 5 quarts of gelato emerge. Its a lot of handwork for so little gelato: with the expensive ingredients, the labor and the cost of rent, you wonder why a pint doesnt cost more than it does.
What Well Never Forget
- Honey Lavender. After one taste, we were ready to clear our freezer and lay in a stock for the winter ahead, as these flavors are seasonal. The Honey Lavender isnt made the easy way, from dried buds, but from the fresh lavender petals of summer, which are ground into a paste and mixed with buckwheat honey, the darkest and least sweet of the generally available honeys.
- Creme Fraiche. We adore creme fraiche, the dairy product; and we adore how Il Laboratorio has transforms into a frozen dessert. Please, leave some in the freezer for us! By relation, there are also Mascarpone, Ricotta
Traditional Flavors We Love
The two top-sellers at Il Laboratorio del Gelato are Dark Chocolate and Vanilla. When we remonstrated that New Yorkers were too tame in their tastes, we were reminded by another editor that, Ones first job is to get the basics right. Maybe, but we couldnt wait to get to temptations like:
- Cinnamon
- Green Tea
- Raspberry
Flavors Well Try Next Time
- Banana
- Toasted Sesame
Capogiro Gelato Artisans
At Capogiro Gelato Artisans in Philadelphia (capogiro means head-turning orhead-spinning in Italian), the Philadelphia premises are more spacious, but the artisanal techniques are equal: owner Stephanie Reitano is pureeing ingredients at 5 a.m. and the store opens at 7:30. Stephanie and her husband John decided to create artisanal gelato after a trip to Italy, and their own nightly passeggiatas. The number of flavors is head-spinningmore than 250, based on seasonal ingredients.
Some might think that New Yorkers have the more adventurous palates, but Ms. Reitano is much more flavor-forward, nouvelle gelato. You can walk on the wild side at Capogirobut isnt that why one wants a huge supply of head-spinning gelato in the first place? Yes, there are banana and chocolate... but no vanillaat least, not right now. Be prepared to choose from a slate of flavors, most of which you have never seen before. And, you get an Italian lesson in the process: flavors are given their Italian names, with translations.
What Well Never Forget
- Lancaster County Yogurt was unlike any frozen yogurt confection you could imagine, what the greatest pastry chef might do to a frozen yogurt. Ethereally light with a lemon accent, we would have eaten the entire pint in a sitting if we hadnt wanted to have more the next day.
- Ananas Con Mento, Pineapple Mint Sorbetto is a marriage of fruit and herb that might not have occurred to us...but now we cant get enough. Its a sophisticated flavoranother staff member said she couldnt give it away to her more rural neighbors.
In fact, for those seeking something new, the cutting edge of Capogiro flavors is very evident in the fruit and herb sorbetti. As we write this, its the height of summer: fruit and herb combinations are a natural inspiration. Lime with Cilantro is no one-note citrus sorbet. Quirky cilantro throws the palate for a loop. Refreshing anytime, it also begs to be served with Mexican or Pac Rim cuisines. Ananas con Sage (Pineapple with Sage) and Mirtillo con Timo (Blueberries with Thyme) remind us of the herbed palate-cleanser sorbets and granitas of Provence. People who dont like things sweet can really get down with this group.
Traditional Flavors We Love
- Cioccolato Scuro, Dark Chocolate, is a very different chocolate ice cream experience: it has the density of cold fudge, but none of the sweetness. You are taste bud to taste bud with pure chocolate and cocoa butter. If you like 70 percent chocolate bars, youll like this gelato.
- Mint Stracciatella is the lightest mint chocolate chip (actually, chocolate flakes) youll ever tastealmost like Tinkerbelle, its hardly there, yet magical. Yet, more so than in any other mint chocolate frozen dessert you can buy at retail, you taste mint as fresh as if you had just crushed it yourself.
- Turkish Coffee is a must on the stop for a coffee lover: finely ground whole beans are mixed into the ice cream: a sea of specks throughout, providing flavor and texture. (THE WEBSITE SAYS Coffee gelato infused with cardamom.)
Flavors Well Try Next Time
- Salted Bitter Almond, bitter almond gelato filled with salted marcona almonds from Spain.
- Tahini, like halvah ice cream (we make one of these ourselves!)
- Thai Coconut Milk, a coconut gelato made with a hint of coconut rum.
- The rest of the herb sorbets, like Arancia con Cardamomo (Orange with Cardamom); and all of the liqueur flavors: Cocomero Giallo con Grappa (Yellow Watermelon with Grappa, Pesca (Peach) con Southern Comfort, Butterscotch with Bourbon (Wild Turkey), Espresso with Kahlua.
For the most part, Capogiros textures are light and etherealgelato spun by a fairy queen. Some flavors, like Cioccolato Scuro (Bitter Chocolatenot bitter but dark and delightful), are thicker, owing to the ingredients (all the chocolate, e.g.). But those to whom gelato is Italian ice cream will be surprised by the work of both of these featured gelato artisans. These small batch products are so light as to be almost a froth on the palatedelicate, dainty frozen confections. While using the farm-fresh ingredients from nearby Lancaster County, the gelato at Capogiro has an American nouvelle spin.
Karen Hochman
About the Author:
KAREN HOCHMAN is Editorial Director of THE NIBBLE (www.TheNibble.com)