TripAdvisor

The more lists that I looked at, Gelateria del Teatro was the only Gelato shop that I was familar with that was highly recomended by TripAdvisor users. Frigidarium and Grom have high ratings, yet never made the “Best Gelato in Rome” list or “Roman Culture To Do” list. 

The more I read the more I discovered that the creativeness in Gelato flavors is an upcoming fad, rather than a tradition. Many of the Gelato flavors such as Fragola, Limone, and Ciaccolato have been around since the creation of the frozen dessert. In recent years, (mentioned in the Gelateria del Teatro) the art of Gelato has become more of a creative experience.

“Romans (and Italians) are very discerning when it comes to gelato. New gelaterie come on the scene regularly, and the current trend is for creative new flavour combinations you'll be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.” - Trip Advisor

Not only to impress tourists, the experimentation of flavors have given Gelaterias like Del Teatro a famous name in Rome. Flavors that cannot be duplicated and are new to our taste buds create a new experience to traditional gelato eating. Many store owners take pride in their Gelateria’s and intend on putting their own signature on their product, what better way than to create their own flavors? After being in Italy for almost four months, I realize the creative palletes that Italians are born with. It is mind-boggling to me that Stefero (owner of Del Teatro) would think to mix a flavor like sage into Gelato. It seems to be that currently, without a creative spin on a shops flavors, they cannot compete with other Gelateria’s. Stefero mentioned after the interview that experimenting with flavors can be a frustrating experience. So hopeful that a flavor will be delicious, the disappoint of a funky taste can cause a lot of frustration during the experimenting process. Stefero said that after a couple of hours it is easy to throw a couple flavors together, and just hope for the best. The strangest flavor that was surprising delicious (according to him) was Pumpkin and Coffee gelato...(yes mixed together). 

Here are two examples of the reviews that Del Teatro were given in TripAdvisor:

Best Gelato in Rome List: 

“Gelateria del Teatro - Via di San Simone, 70, just off the pedestrianised via dei Coronari, between piazza Navona and the lungotevere Marzio. This new-ish place is agelateria artigianale, using carefully sourced ingredients including almonds from Bari and pistachios from Sicily. The picturesque antiques-district location offers outdoor seating in a tiny alley; the gelato itself is heavenly and includes several flavoUrs of chocolate ranging from "al latte" (milk) to "puro" - reputedly 70% chocolate. Other choices include cassata and tiramisù flavours plus caramel-pear and ricotta-fig-almond.”

“Gelateria del Teatro was amazing I had the zuppa inglese (trifle) flavour which tasted like custard with strawberry jam through it and pieces of chocolate sponge - heaven! 

-- LilyBanter Oct 16, 2011 3:47 PM”

Trip Advisor also concluded on the importance that Gelato is a portable snack.

Roman Culture-

 “A simple "passeggiata" (a stroll/walk), is something special there. You can fill your eyes and heart with the beauty while strolling around and eating a gelato.”

After reading this article, I began to stroll around Piazza Navona and Piazza Venezia and realized the lack of people sitting down and eating Gelato. Gelato and Rome have a relationship that compliment each other beautifully. Matching a large cone of Gelato and a slow walk around the city streets is a popular and traditional activity that has lived in Rome for years. Only a small number of people were sitting with Gelato, and rarely sat down for the entirety of eating it. Unlike other cities such as New York City or London, people walk extremely slowly. Foreign to an American (myself), Italians take the time to enjoy their walk to work, school or the gym. Their walk, about as fast as a baby crawls, is mostly frustrating for an American that is permanently in a hurry. Once I bought my first cone of Gelato I was able to realize the opportunity of slowing down and appreciating Rome. Gelato gives many people that are in a hurry the opportunity to slow down and indulge in not only the organic, creative and delicious Gelato, but the ancient city of Rome. 

Frigidarium

Frigidarium

Via del Governo Vecchio, 112, 00186 Roma

When going into one of the most popular Gelaterias in Rome, I knew it would be difficult to get an interview. After waiting in line for about six minutes, I ordered my favorite, Coco with Cioccolato in a cone. Quickly, I asked the man as many questions as I could before he started taking more orders. 

Frigidarium:

What is your most popular flavor?

• Frigidarium
• What is in that flavor?
• caramel, chocolate, and cookie. It is good with coconut (looking down at my cone)
• What are the other popular flavors?
• Pistaccio and stracciatella are also favorites 
• What is your favorite flavor?
• Pistaccio and Fragola 

Frigidarium Flavor ^

Different from Grom, the flavors I Frigidarium are put on display for their costumers to observe. All of the flavors are overflowing their containers and are decorated with fruit and candy that are in the flavor. For example, their most popular flavor, Frigidarium is decorated with chocolate sauce and cookies. The way the flavors are presented makes the customer feel like they are purchasing gelato from an art gallery. Each flavor has it’s own color, texture, shape and decoration to go along with it. The fruity flavors, such as lemon, will have a yellow tint and ornamented with lemon pieces. In another example, the Tiramisu flavor is one solid color, but the top of the gelato is lightly dusted with cocoa for a beautiful appearance. The way the gelato is scooped into the containers and shaped for presentation is interesting. Rather than having the ice cream flat on top, the flavor vary how they are presented. The fruity flavors are given large bumps, similar to a scenic view of rolling hills. Others are similar to a wavy ocean. The glorious display of gelato in Frigidarium is extremely creative, and rather than just being food, the employees treat it as art. 

Interestingly enough, Frigidarium also has a sign to alert it’s costumers of their promise to only use pure organic ingredients their gelato. In America, it seems to be the competition with food is about the taste and the price. Finding the best tasting food for the lowest price is the American way. But the competition is much different in Italy, especially when it comes to gelato. Prices are not an issue, but the ingredients are. Providing customers with traditional ice cream, made with organic ingredients is the way to run a successful Gelateria in Italy. 

Grom

Grom 

Via agonal 3 corner Piazza Navona - 00186 Rome

During our food tour of Rome in the beginning of the semester, we were taken to a famous Gelato shop called Grom. In comparison to the other Gelato shops, Grom is famous for representing sustainable foods, biodegradable products and composting all of their trash. There is a website that explains their strict philosophy on improving our earths health in addition to the original Grom website. 

www.Gromlovesworld.it

In our food and culture class we have learned about the importance of the Slow Food movement in Italy. Countless restaurants and Gelato shops solely buy their ingredients from small farms and only want food that is harvested organically. Groms gelato contains no added color, flavorings or preservatives. Much of the food in the United States is packed with food dyes and preservatives to make it taste better and last longer. Unfortunately, that is why America is the #1 obese country. It is interesting to see a Gelato shop rise against unhealthy foods and provide the public with an honest healthy dessert. In addition to their dedication to organic products, Grom prides itself on purchasing ingredients from the parts of the world in which they are naturally grown. For example, the buy the cocoa and coffee from farmers in Central America, to assure that money is given fairly back to the farmers and the ingredients are fresh. 

Walking into Grom the shop was flooded with large families. Unlike other Gelato shops, which are usually occupied by groups of two or three young adults to elderly couples. Because of Grom’s healthful and positive message, it seems to have attracted Italian parents. From what I have observed, Italian parents do a phenomenal job of teaching their children about healthy eating from a young age. As I stood in Piazza Navona, I counted about 1 out of 30 people that were obese, and every person that was obese, was a tourist, most likely American. In Grom I could hear the children screaming and alerting their parents of the flavors they wanted to order.

I listened to an Italian family prepare to order -

“Cioccolato!!! Fondente!! Con Stracciatella!” 

“No no no Fragola e Yogurt”

In addition to picking the healthy option for Gelato consumption, the child’s parents limited him to the sorbet flavors for the health benefits. The longer I sat there I noticed that the majority of Italians that came in ordered the Sorbet flavors, children and parents  alike.

When I began to observe the tourist families I noticed that it did not matter what flavor the child ordered. Mainly the American and British families that were ordering were concentrated on having their children order in a productive and orderly fashion, rather than being concerned with which flavor their child was about to indulge in. The majority of tourist children ordered the creamy flavors, such as Cioccolato and Crema. 

Another aspect of Grom that sets them aside from other Gelateria’s is their presentation. All other Gelato shops I have visited in Italy show off their flavors by overflowing the containers and decorating the bins they are in with fruit and candy. Grom keeps their gelato in small metal containers with small labels explaining what each flavor is. The customers do not see the flavors before being served. I tried to understand why they would not want to boast and present their delicious ice cream to consumers. Perhaps, the presentation could distract the customers from their message. The store was covered with posters explaining how they have replaced all of their plastic for biodegradable and compostable material, all paper is recycled to save the forrest and all of the fruit is grown organically. It seems that their presentation is not about the gelato, but about how we as human beings should be more concentrated on the earth, rather than how beautiful we can make gelato look. 

Sources -
"Grom Loves World." Grom Loves World. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
"Grom." Grom. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.

Gelato Del Teatro

Gelateria del Teatro 

Via di San Simone, 70, 00186 Rome

The Gelateria is nuzzled on a street corner covered in Christmas decorations in lights. We are able to look in and watch how they make their Gelato and other treats through a large glass window outside. 

The owners of the 4.5 out of 5 (according to trip advisor) Gelateria are a married couple, Stefero and Sylvia. We also spoke with one of his employees, Alessandro who assisted with the translating. Julia and I were lucky enough to ask Stefero some questions about his successful gelato shop. 

Interview with Stefero - 

What is the most popular flavor?

• Pistachio, pure chocolate, sage and raspberry
• How often do your flavors change?
• I change flavors about every 4 months, I keep the flavors seasonal to assure the freshness of the gelato. (Points at a gelato dish) I serve pumpkin because it is winter, but in the summer I will serve pineapple and strawberry. 
• How do you choose your flavors?
• I experiment with different flavors to see what tastes good together. Some of my best creations were honey with lemon, and raspberry with sage.
• What ingredients do you use and where do you get them? Do you use organic food?
• I go to all parts of Italy to get the ingredients. I only purchase my ingredients from a small producer in Sicily and all around the north of Italy. I am careful when purchasing ingredients because the gelato tastes the best and is at its highest quality when the ingredients are fresh and organic. 
• What is your favorite flavor?
• In the winter I like the crème with alcohol and chocolate
• In the summer I like the fruit flavors (best is the cheese and cherry from Roma)
• Why do you think gelato is important?
• That is hard to explain. It is a long tradition in Italy. People, families eat it often and producers are proud of their products. Gelato is a lifestyle. 
• Last couple years have changed with flavors. Much experimentation  has occurred and there are many different flavors than there were ten years ago. 
• How is your gelato made and stored? Can you show us?
• It is made with an Italian machine, I call my machine “the Ferrari for ice cream”.
• Do you have any other comments?
• Look up my shops in 100 places to go in Rome, it is on the list. I am famous!!
• We also have a small bakery section and have separate workers for that (Susana, Carlos)

Stefero was a proud owner of his shop and enjoyed explaining his products to us.It was interesting to see the creativity in the experimentation of flavors. For example, “Sage and Raspberry” was a unique flavor I had not yet seen before. The tasting and testing different flavors together must excite the taste buds. The importance of creating unique flavors when having a Gelateria is sizable because it gives Stefero a trademark, a distinct characteristic from all the other Gelato shops. 

 In America, jobs are jobs. There is much less passion about going to work everyday and the work that people produce. Stefero’s Gelateria was not just his job, but a lifestyle he was enthusiastic about. He was eager for us to ask him questions rather than his assistant Alessandro, we could see how thrilled he was about his shop. It makes me wonder, why do so many people continue to work at jobs they do not enjoy? Isn’t there any other way? All of the Italians that I met have found jobs that they love, and are overjoyed about. It is truly heartwarming to see a person so happy with their accomplishments and life choices, the interview with Stefero not only taught me about his Gelato shop, but about the importance in finding a job that I love. 

The Beginnings of Gelato

Gelati (as many of us call it Gelato) is the Italian word for ice cream. The word Gelati comes from the Latin word “gelatus” which according to the Latin dictionary means “to be frozen”. There are many stories and speculations as to who and how Gelato was first invented. The most common story is of Bernardo Buetalenti. The ultimate creator of our beloved Gelato is Bernardo Buentalenti who was a famous artist in the 1500’s. Bernardo was invited to cook a special dinner for the King of Spain and prepared a delicious frozen dessert for him, which became famously known as Gelato. During the 1920’s Gelato became heavily desired and started to transform Italian culture.

The difference between Gelato and American Ice cream is the texture, temperature and ingredients. Ice cream in the United States is made with a large amount of cream, which increases the fat content. On the other hand, Gelato is made with milk and water which lowers the fat in take. Even though Gelato contains a large amount of sugar, there are also some benefits to eating it.  Many of the Gelato sorbets contain essential fruity vitamins that people need to consume everyday for a healthy lifestyle while the other flavors still contain the milk we need for calcium. Also, the chocolate flavors are made from pure thick chocolate which provide the consumer with antioxidants. 

The most ancient desserts that we have been able to find were in 3000 B.C. in Asia where they enjoyed ice with sweet and fruity flavorings. Years later is was found that Italians were consuming ice off of Eta and Vesuvius, large volcanoes in Italy. The Italians would cover their icy desserts in honey. 

Sources -
"WhyGelato.com." WhyGelato.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
"Gelato Facts." Gelato Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
"Latin Definition For: Gelo, Gelare, Gelavi, Gelatus." Latin Definition For: Gelo, Gelare, Gelavi, Gelatus (ID: 21352). N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.