Gelato, Ice Cream or FroYo?

I will admit that I enjoy frozen desserts as much as anyone, but do you have a favorite between gelato, ice cream or froyo? Thanks to the side effects from chemo, I find myself eating more frozen desserts than usual. Quite frankly, some days it's the only thing I can stomach. But is there one that is inherently better than another? I submit it depends, but overall my favorite would be gelato - but it's got to be good gelato. If it's not good gelato, then I'd rather have good ice cream over average gelato. You might say, "But, Sandi, isn't gelato just Italian for ice cream?" "NO! They are different."

The first time I had true gelato was when I vacationed in Italy during the Christmas holidays in 2006. Every night I tried a new gelateria...because, well, you know, I had to taste test them all in order to find the best gelato shop. Quite frankly, eating Italian gelato almost ruined ice cream for me because it's so much better. (By the way, the same thing happened with pizza - pizza in Italy it far superior to the US.) I assume it's because the ingredient are better in Italy. Therefore, when I got home to New York, I tried every gelato shop in the City hoping to find something equal to Italy. Alas, it didn't happen, so I stopped the search. I settled on eating ice cream or frozen yogurt, which are delicious, but aren't gelato. That all changed a few weeks ago, when a friend decided to go to the gelato shop (Dolce Fredo) in Newburyport and I tagged along. I decided to give it a try and found some of the best gelato in the US. Is it as good as Italy? No, but it's pretty close. The best flavor is Bacio - chocolate hazelnut. Oh my - now that is gooooooooood!!!

What makes gelato better than other the frozen desserts? There are several factors: gelato has less fat than ice cream because it's made with milk rather than cream and uses less egg yolks (if any). Ice cream legally has to have a minimum of 10% fat, gelato is 5-7% fat. Gelato is churned at a slower rate which makes it a little more dense and consequently, has a much more intense flavor! Lastly, gelato is served approximately 15 degrees warmer. All these factors makes gelato the better flavored and textured frozen dessert.

Clearly for me, gelato is the winner, but I wouldn't snub any good gelato, ice cream or frozen yogurt. It's the perfect summer dessert or chemo nausea panacea. Which is your favorite?

One of my favorite photos from my Italy trip!

By the by, the other day I tried a York Peppermint Pattie ice cream bar!  Oh my goodness.  Delish!!