There are good things about living in Europe, and there are bad things. But here is one good thing, reason enough to come on over and never leave: The exceptional, wonderful, ice cream.
La glace in France, just like in the states, varies greatly by brand. I prefer Haagen-Dazs in the states, and in France it’s Carte d’Or all the way. Haven’t figured out how they do it, but Carte d’Or, the most common brand you’ll find in cafés and brasseries and in the supermarchés as well, is as good or better than Haagen-Dazs with a much lower fat content. Creme brulée is my current favorite, and the caramel au buerre salée (salted butter caramel) is not too bad either.
But the BEST ice cream of all is Italian gelato. Oh so rich and smooth, with an even lower fat content. Plus they serve it so beautifully in the shops, all creamy and swirled and drizzled with raspberry sauce or caramel or chocolate, oh my. To find it you usually have to go to Italy–or the south of France, were it has slid right over the border.
We’re on vacation near Nice, and the gelato shops made me wonder if it was possible to whip up a batch at home. The bad news: you have to freeze it at a very low temperature. The good news: the process for making it closely resembles that for making home-churned ice cream.
For fellow fanatics, here’s how gelato is different from other ice creams:
–gelato is typically made with very fresh ingredients (fresh fruit, milk, cream) and no corn syrup.
–the fat content averages around 8%, far lower than regular ice cream. It has less cream, but more sugar.
–commercial ice creams have a lot of air added in; gelato does not. This makes it more dense, and intensely flavored.
–Gelato is frozen very quickly but it’s made and stored at a significantly lower temperature than ice cream, so it’s softer and smoother.
In my favorite gelateria in Nice (pictured), you can pick up these cute little desserts for entertaining, in small plastic cups. Garnished with fruit, they look scrumptious. And how easy is that? Let’s try some, made with ice cream and sorbets.
RECIPE: Little Ice Cream Treats, Many Ways
Just looking at the photo at the top, I see severaI of those little treats I want to try, and I've started by raiding my fridge (this is my favorite sort of company dessert: no recipe required). OK the ones I made are not so little, but hey.
I’m thinking these would look great in anything from a martini glass to a short juice glass. As you see in the top photo, some are not even layered, just softened up enough to add other ingredients, then garnished. I can see some chopped fresh pineapple stirred into softened pineapple or lemon sorbet, or into coconut ice cream. Raspberry sorbet with chopped fresh berries mixed in, and loads of fresh fruit on top? Delectable. The layered lemon-lime ones might be two sorbet flavors, like lime sorbet with coconut or vanilla ice cream. These are best either not frozen too solid, or well softened before you serve them.
In our fridge right now: Carte d’or chocolat noir, and there are some vanilla shortbread cookies in the cabinet. So I’ve made a parfait with those cookies in the middle, drizzled with a bit of caramel sauce. On top, some toasted walnuts mixed with more caramel sauce stirred in (for Dee's great homemade caramel sauce, see this post from last year). I had vanilla ice cream too, so I mixed that with lots of fresh strawberries and a bit of vin d'orange, which is a homemade orange liquer that a French friend gave us. What’s in your freezer? Endless possibilities!
Favorite Reads: Our reader Rachel of the And Then Make Soup blog has read, and re-read, an old favorite, Laurie Colwin's Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen. Little essays on cooking full of charm and wit: ‘I am never on a diet regime I cannot be talked out of', says the author.
In the COMMENTS: Merci for the lovely comments this week. Virginia, I would love to come to Paris sometime and hang out with you. Anyone who can come up with expressions like "Well hush my bouche!" is my kinda girl.
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16 thoughts on “Crossing the Border: French ‘Glace’ vs. Italian Gelato”
Thank you for the sweet shout out…sweet would be the word for this post to be sure!!!!
Thanks for sharing the joy of gelato — a favorite treat. We have such happy memories of this Italian delight!
It’s a deal!! Wouldn’t be have some fun speaking “southern” French! BTW, I’ve led a sheltered life, never had gelato! I think French chocolat ice cream is heaven so that’s my vote.
Bon weekend ya’ll,
V
I wondered what the difference was. There is no ice cream in the States that even comes close to matching the flavor and texture of any random boule I buy on the streets of Dijon. I think every city at home needs to get into the summertime habit (like in Dijon) of pushing ice cream carts out onto the sidewalk so you’re never more than 50 feet from an ice cream treat. The coconut is one of my favorites.
I love gelato. Happily we can find it (well a close version) in Boulder now at several places. I think I may just need to try some this afternoon! The choices of flavors in S. France and Italy is so delightful. I could truly live on gelato.
Bon weekend. Enjoy.
Haagen-Dazs is ok as is Ben and Jerrys. But being a good southern girl you know that unless you make your own hand-ranked ice cream there is only one possibility and that is Blue Bell Vanilla from your local Publix-tastes just like your mother used to make in the hand-crank. In fact,for your next local fund-raising event have a home-made ice cream contest…..and don’t forget the pecans.
I’ve been meaning to get to Nice and do it right for some time now. I’ve only ever passed through and not had good experiences. I think it’s time to plan a week-long trip, so I can really dive in and see what that area is all about. It’s gotta be great if you can get Italian gelato! (psst…there’s a gelateria in Ann Arbor now and I’m in heaven!) Enjoy the rest of your trip.
Another wonderful post that has left me drooling!
YUM!
Am so glad that those ‘Lazy,hazy,crazy days of Summer” are just around the corner!(and if that last statement doesn’t give my age
away,nothing will!)
Thanks,Lynn, for weekend smiles!
Bon journee!!!!!!!
Lynn, you do realize reading this is torture !! Looking at the pictures makes me want to lick the computer screen !! I would have a difficult time choosing flavors because I want them all ! Thanks !:)
I don’t usually like gelato because it tends to be really sweet, but I have found one place in Louisville, KY where the gelato is delicieuse – a French place, bien sur! Favorites are dark chocolate and key lime.
The best ice cream in Louisville and Cincinatti is Graeter’s, which is billed as “French pot.” It is SOOO creamy and rich, the best ice cream I’ve ever had.
I am on my perpetual diet and now I am totally famished- FAB Post as usual!
I agree completely! There is nothing like gelato! We had THE best in Florence at a local shop off the tourist track.
But we also had it on rue Cler in Paris…. Can’t wait to try it in Southern France!
I once had a basil/mint sorbet from a “between two buildings” ice cream stand in Toulouse… I dream of it sometimes in the Texas summer but I’ve never quite recreated it. Mmmmm…. Then in Athens I stayed just up the street from a gelateria that featured ices and ice creams in colors never found in nature – antifreeze green, bubblegum pink, you get the idea. Scary but oh so good… I have no idea to this day what some of those flavors were. Ahhhhh….
My favorite flavors were green apple and pear. Cannot figure how they get the ice cream to taste so much like fruit with no chemical off taste.
Well, here’s a flavor for you…last year I was at the Philadelphia Flower Show (theme for 2011: Paris in the Spring…HAD to go!)with friends who took me to a gelateria on South Street, where I had…wait for it…avocado gelato!! Man, it was some fine gelato, and I could eat it every day! Lemony, not too sweet. I also had their apricot sorbet, because I’ve had it so many times in Italy and Frnace, and it was every bit as delicious.
There is a gelateria here in Portland, ME, run by a Milanese gentleman who decided to move here…generally crowded and quite wonderful, but he has thus far resisted my efforts to put the avocado stuff on the menu. I have to be content with the chocolate hazelnut…where’s that comment about the perpetual diet? Sign me up (NOT!)
There are a lot of lovely gelato places here in Annecy. Today was so sunny & mild that my husband & I just had to wander along the lake to la vielle ville & indulge at our favourite place, Glacier des Alpes, for the first time since last summer (ok, ok… last fall!) Sooooooooo yummy & so good for the mood… Spring, thank you for officially being here!