So many wonderful gelato flavors: how do you choose?

Well, I always have to get my favourite - Stracciatella. And then I combine it with something new every time. Often a fruitier one to provide some contrast to the creamy Stracciatella.

Best way out of your dilemma: get some gelato twice per day (or more!!) every day during your stay in Italy ;-)

You get the BIGGEST size the first night - to be shared- fill it with every flavor that will fit. We are talking a gallon or more.

Most Fruit flavors all go together, and for us, all work with chocolates and Coffee flavors.

If you pick something like AMARETTO CHOCOLATE and Grape Fruit, they will probably stop you.

The best way is to eat gelato at least twice a day, then you can get through a number of flavors. I like a great variety, the fruity ones, limone especially. And the chocolatety ones too, matched with a vanilla with nuts. mmmmm, Nutella, yummy. White and brown are not boring on the taste buds. I try to find complementary flavors, so I might have 2 fruity flavors together. I like trying the more exotic fruits (well, relatively exotic), flavors that we may not have here.

The best way is to eat gelato at least twice a day, then you can get through a number of flavors. I like a great variety, the fruity ones, limone especially. And the chocolatety ones too, matched with a vanilla with nuts. mmmmm, Nutella, yummy. White and brown are not boring on the taste buds. I try to find complementary flavors, so I might have 2 fruity flavors together. I like trying the more exotic fruits (well, relatively exotic), flavors that we may not have here.

Does each shop have a specialty?

We LOVED the pineapple at the gelato shop closest to the harbor in Vernazza. He made smaller batches than other shops and it was the best we had in Italy.

I agree with June - eat it twice a day and then you can decide :-)
I personally try something new each time normally based on the crowd favorite, unless there was a flavor or flavor combination that totally blew me away and I know things can't get any better (like limone/fragola combo - I'm obessed!!!) I also tried the "ice cream sandwich" which is gelato stuffed inside some cake/bread configuration just because it "looked" good. YUMMY! Also, I do try to determine the exact flavor by translating the name because I know there are some flavors I just don't like and probably won't like even in gelato form.
Good phrase to know: "un assaggio por favore" meaning: "a taste/sample please". Ive never been turned down. Based on that you can choose what you want.

The art of combining flavors is a tricky one. I put lemon, strawberry, and chocolate together once. Lemon + strawberry, good. Lemon + chocolate, not good.

Now, I usually pick one favorite flavor and then try to group a family of simliar choices around it. If I pick gianduia (one of my favorites) I add pistachio or chocolate or stracciatella. If I pick pera, the other two will usually be fruit flavors, and so on.

Our family rule is that if we walk 5 miles in a day, we are entitled to a second round of gelato (the first being an automatic given that we're in Italy!). We never had any trouble meeting the 5 mile requirement, although sadly, we didn't always have the time/stomach capacity for the second round of gelato.

I found out that the plural of gelato is gelati and that is what I plan to do when I'm there in October...I am having gelati! If that means 2x a day then so be it!!

Close your eyes and point!!!!!

I will be in Rome next week and want to eat a lot of gelato. What gelato shops are the best in Rome, is there a real big difference between the better shops and the not as good ones? Or is any gelato in Rome good?

Yummm...... I really wanna go back asap! I mean now! In terms of finding good gelato, better gelato can be distinguished by the color of the pistachio flavor (if it's a more grayish color, it's more likely natural and homemade). If it's bright green, it's artificially flavored/dyed and probably less flavorful. Also, great big piles of gelato are generally infused with air and may not taste quite as good.

Although a chain, Grom is generally felt to be very good quality! All fresh ingredients, etc. YUM!

First, the best gelato in Rome is at Bridge Town. It's named after New Jersey but it is definitely Roman owned and they definitely make all their own gelato and give large portions. You can have it topped with whipped cream if you want for free. The scoops are so big, I suggest a cup over a cone (what a mess those are!). Located in walking distance from the Vatican. Coconut is a favorite of mine but it was eclipsed when I tried Baci (made with Perugia chocolate and a bit like Nutella). This is closely followed by cassata, which has bits of candied fruit in it. Apparently, this is a particular favorite of Italians because at Bridge Town, it was often had the lowest amount in the pan. Also, the melon was just like fresh cantaloupe.

The best gelato is usually found away from the busiest tourist spots. The brighter the color, the more artificial it will be, so I look for a place with pastels. That's more likely to be tastier. A good policy is to have gelato at least twice a day - once with your known favorites and once with something new. :-)

Mostly I choose with my eyes first -- all the flavors look so beautiful --particularly the fruit ones -- pink, yellow, orange, green -- it's hard to resist getting at least one of them, and I haven't been disappointed -- though I do love hazlenut too.

Well, since most of the ice cream salons here in Frankfurt are owned and run by Italians, I get my fill of gelato all year long. Cool huh? Anyway, I like combining flavors, things like banana and chocolate, or pineapple and coconut and my usual flavor, caramel and coffee or caramel and chocolate. Fruity flavors are nice on really hot days, so then I pick mango, or blueberry.

My problem is that whatever I choose I end up coveting my husband's gelato! And he's one of those people who gets really uptight about sharing his food. He always picks rich coffee and cream flavours and I am attracted to the beautiful fruit colours. Our walking tour guide recommended a place near the Vatican and we went back several times. I wish I could remember the name but if you are in the security line-up you can see it. They just roll up a door and the counter is right there almost on the street with a line-up mostly of Romans.

Andrea, you could be referring to Bridge Town as your favorite place. I'm not sure one could see it from the Vatican security line (I didn't stand in it), but everything else sounds familiar. One key might be if they asked you whether you wanted whipped cream on your gelato. This was the only place that offered it to me.

Like Jo, we have some of the best gelato around all year long at a local chocolaterie that also has a shop in Amsterdam (they’ve been in Amsterdam since 1903 but came to Des Moines for some reason…weird but I’m happy about it). Anyway, I try something different with each visit, and that’s what I do in Italy, too. No need to choose…just pick one and enjoy! Sometimes, I find the sorbets more refreshing on a hot day. On my last trip to Madrid, I sometimes had sorbet and sometimes ice cream at Häagen-Dazs because they’re all over the place, but I was lucky enough to stumble across an Italian gelato shop at one point and indulged. I say eat a lot of it early and often regardless of flavor!

Whatever you do - don't eat gelato at a bar, i.e. where there is also coffee and other food. There are exceptions, but usually at a bar you are eating something commercial that was delivered and not made on the premises.

Get it at a gelateria, where you will see signs like artiginale or nostro produzione (or something like that - meaning artisan made and/or our production - home made).

In Florence it seems the current hot spot is Grom - the lines there are amazing. I think they have craftily combined real authentic gelato and natural ingredients with some great marketing. They are in several Italian cities and even in NY.

Our favorite is still Gelateria dei Neri. And there is also Vivoli, Perche No, and many others who make their gelato on site and are single shops run by families. You can't go wrong at these places -

And yes, eat a lot of it, but get the small cones or cups and have it 2 or 3 times a day in different combinations. Now that the height of summer is here try the fresh fruit flavors that you can't get in the winter, like peach, watermelon, green melon, etc.

Ahhh Gelato. Edible art in many shops in
Florence and Cinque Terre. Pistacio is hands down my favorite. But combining fruits like mango and pineapple with coconut is great too.
The twice a day rule worked for us. Thanks for the interesting post. I miss gelato!

Fun post!

I usually get two flavors, one something that's richer, a coffee, chocolate or nut flavor, and the other a fruit. My favorite fruits are melon, green apple and coconut. I also love rice (riso). My favorite of all time, from the gelateria on the piazza cistern in San Gimignano, is cheese and pear. And I love to try new flavors.

Nice Italian fellow drives his gelateria truck through my neighborhood each afternoon on the weekends during the summer. I can just step out my front door and pick the next one on the list. The Ferraro Rocher tastes just like the candy.

Well, you don't ask the two young ladies behind you in the Perugia gelato shop what flavor they'd recommend...a good natured debate started to show every sign of rapidly morphing into a knock-down drag out. When they settled, hugging, I got something brown and something yellow and opted for a hasty grazie and ciao.

Ohh to have another gelato! Here in Seattle we have several great places for gelato and they do come close to the real thing in Italy.. but there is nothing like taking your choice of the wonderful creamy dessert and sitting at the piazza watching an impromptu hacky sack game.

I loved pistacio and Noccio (hazelnut)with ciacolata... :)

Fun subject.

Penny, everyone's right about flavors and at least a couple of samplings a day. If you want whipped cream on your gelato, say "con panna" when you order. Panna = whipped cream, not to be confused with pane = bread.

When we first moved to Rome, I did eat gelato AT LEAST two times a day, Had to cut back - too much of a good thing. Here are some of the more "famous" gelato spots in town, including Old Bridge near the Vatican -
GELATO!