The Great Gelato Taste Test
Posted by Renée Suen in ice cream, product comparison on May 21, 2008 at 8:00 am
With summer just around the corner, I can’t think of a greater way to cool down than with the delicious taste of gelato. Less fattening than traditional ice creams, gelato is usually made with milk, but, like ice cream, contains less than 35% air for that ideal density and creamy texture. I’ve found it tough to pinpoint the one gelateria worthy enough to spend my valuable calories and dollars. Not wanting to settle for any icy imitation, I was looking for a flavourful, aromatic product that tasted both fresh and pure - nothing artificial. Toronto offers its share of great eats, but debate ensues amongst foodies when the community is challenged with naming the best of any category. To satisfy my own curiosity, I did what any food obsessed person would do - I set up a taste test.
I recruited a bunch of like-minded (rather, stomached) individuals for the task. Voluntarily subjecting ourselves to dangerously high levels of sugar, our group agreed to have each participant bring at least one pint of gelato, and one sorbetto (dairy-free) to the chosen meet-up location. To standardize the taste test, we compared the classic pistachio flavour - Reale (I have qualms with this fluorescent almond marzipan tasting beast) or Sicilian (the real stuff). The sorbetto choice favoured banana, if available, due to the observation of various yellow hues that have disguised themselves as the fruit in many freezer chests.


