![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/1911826_10152320668490159_1168189411_n-530x706.jpg\" "\\"Gelato")
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Written by Explorica Program Consultant Kelly Bisbee.<\/em><\/p>\n After living and traveling in Italy for four months and maintaining a strict diet of a 1 euro <\/span>cono <\/em>of gelato per day, it’s safe to say I’m (nearly) a gelato expert. Even with the ample choices for desserts in Italy, let’s be honest\u2014the reigning king is gelato. So as the token expert, I know everyone has planned their <\/span>next trip to Italy<\/a> just for the gelato (right?!) and you need some fast-facts and tips to get ready!<\/span><\/p>\n So, what is it?<\/strong><\/p>\n To put it simply, gelato is the greatest gift to mankind. Technically, that means milk and cream (or water for fruitier treats), sugar, and either fruit, nut or other natural flavoring are churned together and served with love.<\/p>\n Wait…isn’t that ice cream?<\/strong><\/p>\n Nope! Nothing wrong with a night in with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, but gelato is a whole other story. There are a few major differences: first, gelato is notably more flavorful then what we find in the freezer. That’s because there is a lower percentage of fat in gelato than ice cream. The other biggie is the amount of air in gelato, as it is churned slower and thus denser than your everyday chocolate-chip. Last, you’ll notice gelato isn’t stored in freezer vats, like ice cream, but in metal tins that are kept cool but don’t freeze it all the way through. Just wait until you try your first bite\u2014you’ll know the difference then!<\/span><\/p>\n Where did this delicious treat come from…heaven?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, way back when, snow was mixed with sugar and fruit – pretty genius for ancient times. Flash forward to the Renaissance in Florence and Bernardo Buontalenti is our hero with the first gelato recipe in the late 1500’s. From there, the Medici family took it to Paris where the first machine was perfected and it was served to the public. The rest is history!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Any tips for newbie gelato tasters?<\/strong><\/p>\n Try EVERY flavor!! Ok, maybe not the best (or at least health-conscious)\u00a0tip\u2026 but one I\u00a0try to follow is to find the gelateria<\/em> that does not have the bins stacked mile high. The homemade shops keep noticeably less gelato in their bins, and usually a sign of more natural ingredients. If you are looking to get a coppa <\/em>to mix flavors, stick with\u00a0two cream based flavors (peanut butter and nutella was my go-to!) or\u00a0two fruit based flavors. You’ll pass off as an expert in no time!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Any final gelato words?<\/strong><\/p>\n Don’t forget the panna<\/em> on top – you’ll see!<\/p>\n Ready to taste for yourself? Check out all our Italy tours online<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Kelly Bisbee is a Program Consultant at Explorica. After first getting a taste of the world abroad in high school, Kelly set off again in college to spend a semester living in Florence, Italy and get a full taste (and stomach) of all that Italy has to offer. With a quick cowboy-esque adventure in Wyoming for a few months after school under her belt, Kelly is back on the East Coast and sharing her love of travel with teachers and students!<\/em><\/p>\n Written by Explorica Program Consultant Kelly Bisbee. After living and traveling in Italy for four months and maintaining a strict diet of a 1 euro cono of gelato per day, it’s safe to say I’m (nearly) a gelato expert. Even with the ample choices for desserts in Italy, let’s be honest\u2014the reigning king is gelato. Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[423,424,426,425],"class_list":["post-4262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-explorica-news","tag-gelato","tag-italian-food","tag-italy-travel","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4262"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4264,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4262\/revisions\/4264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/100_4019-530x397.jpg\" "\\"Explorica")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IMGP4463-530x397.jpg\" "\\"Gelateria")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Gavin-Madigan-10-530x397.jpg\" "\\"Delicious")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Yordano-Lopez-5-530x397.jpg\" "\\"Gelato")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/KellyBisbee-200x200.jpg\" "\\"KellyBisbee\\"")
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