Fun Dishes Made With Gelato

If asked what’s the best way to enjoy Gelato we would generally say, “in a cone or cup, with a spoon!” But this isn’t the only way to enjoy your favorite creamy sweet treat, so we began thinking of all the different ways you can use gelato as an ingredient in your favorite desserts. Here’s one of our favorites with an Italian flair!

Gelato Fruit Pizza

Needs: 1 pkg. of Sugar Cookie dough

            Soft Fruits and Berries of your choice

            1 pint of your favorite Pino Gelato flavor (although vanilla works best)

1. Roll one tube of sugar cookie dough out onto a heavily greased cookie sheet (or pizza pan) until it is about 9-12 inches in diameter. Sometimes it helps to use pre-cut cookies, arrange them together into a small circle, and simply roll the cookies together to make a larger crust.
2. Bake cookie crust as the directions on the package suggests. Normally 10-13 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow crust to rest for 5 minutes, then place crust in freezer to cool.
3. While crust is cooking, allow gelato to sit at room temperature to soften and become spreadable. Also, begin preparing your fruit. Use whatever type of fruit you like best. Typically softer fruits and berries work best like: orange segments, strawberries, kiwi, ripe peaches, pineapple, blueberries, and raspberries. As always, fresh fruit is better, but canned can be used in a pinch. 
4. After crust is cool to the touch (about 10 minutes), spoon and spread a generous portion of the gelato over the crust. More is better! Arrange the fruit on the pizza however you like, and place the pizza in the freezer for 20 more minutes to firm up.
5. Cut, garnish with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and ENJOY!

We hope you try this delicious recipe that is guaranteed to please the whole family. If you do, remember that ALL of the delicious Pino Gelato flavors are available for purchase by the pint. That way you can know that you are only using the best ingredients for your gelato pizza. Lastly, if you do try this recipe, take a picture and post it to our facebook page. Who knows, maybe you’ll get a little prize for doing so (hint, hint).

Gelato In America

Catherine de' Medic

Perhaps many of you did not know it, but gelato has a long and distinguished past dating all the way back to ancient Romans and Egyptians.  They would make frozen treats from snow and ice brought down from nearby mountaintops and store them underground.

In the 16th century, gelato re-emerged in the courts of Catherine de' Medici.   A Florentine cook by the name of Bernardo Buontalenti introduced his recipe and refrigeration techniques to court, and Catherine de’ Medici, in turn, brought the innovation to France. It is Buontalenti, who is credited as being the founder of  not only gelato but also ice cream.

With the 4th of July approaching, it has me thinking about gelato’s place in America.  Everyone knows the expression, “as American as apple pie and ice cream.” What you may not know is that gelato arrived here in America first. Giovanni Basiolo brought gelato from Italy to New York in 1770.  Gelato eventually evolved into ice cream, and the first ice cream parlor opened in 1776 in New York.

While gelato and ice cream have some similarities, there are key differences that you should know.  While a product legally must contain at least 10% butterfat to be considered ice cream, gelato contains less fat  - between 5 and 7%.  Gelato is also much denser than ice cream because less air is whipped into the mixture.  Less fat and less air means a creamier dessert with more intense flavors. Less fat also means less guilt with every bite.

So, we here at Pino Gelato are celebrating this 4th of July, and birth of our great nation, by having a slice of apple pie and…gelato! We hope you will consider doing the same.