how sweet it is: desserting in italy
When I got back from Italy, my sister was surprised to see I’d lost weight.
“But! Every time I read your blog, it was all about food!”
Yes, so true. I ate constantly in Italy. And what’s more, I ate dessert at least once, sometimes twice or three times, a day.
Gelato - A good gelato will change everything. You won’t look at ice cream the same ever again. For me, a vanilla ice cream girl, I fell in love with flavor. Hazelnut. Custard. Pistachio. Here’s a tip: they say that you can tell the good, homemade gelato from the mass-produced stuff by checking to see what kind of containers they come in. Plastic = crap. Metal = homemade. That didn’t always guarantee I ended up with a really good cone of gelato, but it was a good rule to follow. Also, avoid bright colored gelato - the more artificial the ingredients, the brighter the color.
Tiramisu - in Tuscany they served it drowning in custard with chocolate shavings on top. Elsewhere, I had it sans custard, with the bottom layer soaked in espresso. Everywhere, though, it’s an excellent end to dinner. I think I read somewhere that the name, Tiramisu, means “make me happy.” Right on.
Canoli - I ate plenty of these pastries in Napoli, con fragoline (with little strawberries). And then I needed to lie down. Those babies are rich!
What’s your favorite foreign treat?
Tiramisu actually means “pick me up”, same thing really. I’ve also heard it translated as “”on the spoon”.
I love gelato, and French tarts.
Gulab Jamun….from India…basically deep fried pastry balls in a sugar syrup. They are incredible! I now make them and I serve them with really good vanilla ice cream. A little bit of heaven in Northern Canada!
SO looking forward to that in Italy…I’m hopefully going with my roommates in February and your stories have me all excited. And dessert does too, mmmmm mmm mmm.
Chocolate fondue is awesome (anywhere they have rich chocolate of course) and my new favorite - croissant amande - almond paste in a croissant. Ooh yum.
Tiramisu means “pick me up”, considering that liquer and espresso are used in the recipe, i would say its quite the pick me up.
You can also get homemade gelato in any city with a Little Italy.
Green Tea ice cream is my kryptonite! I am also a huge fan of Churros con chocolate. The thing is, I love all desserts….even deep fried Mars bars in Scotland!
Gelato and tiramisu too!
three friends and i went to london for five days and spent one of those in paris… which i am completely obsessed with… we got off the train and headed straight to notre dame, where across the street, is a crepe stand that has the most amazing treats. my favorite travel memory is standing in paris, outside notre dame, enjoying the view and my friends and a nutella crepe. the best!
There are so many choices: Gelato in Italy, nutella crepes in France, chocolates in Russia, Turkish Coffee and apple tea in Turkey. This question is WAY too hard!
My best ice cream ever was in Switzerland… all those happy cows with bells! My fav Mexico desserts are flan (homemade) and churros. I’ve not been to Italy but canolli are the tops. P.S. There was no CHEESEcake to be had in Switzerland… just lots of cheese on my trip many years ago.
Best dessert is actually a breakfast item: they have these lovely donut-y things in Buenos Aires that are straight and fluted and rolled in sugar. Not the cake donut kind; sort of a hybrid between the raised and the cake. Really great texture. Like a sopapilla, only not hollow.
Then, you dip them in dulce de leche (caramel sauce). YUM……
[You probably can get dulce in a market in New York or Dallas area - Nestle makes a canned version that is not ... great, but not bad. Then it's just a matter of finding the right kind of sopapilla-type donut thing to dip in it. :)]
I love Canoli like nobody’s business.
Torrone– I haven’t had a good piece of almondy nougat since I left Sitges, Spain 10 years ago. Mmmm. The memories.
Just about any pastry in France … and I mean the well-constructed-piece-of-art kind that sit in the windows of patisseries. I rotated through about 4 of those shops throughout the week so that the owners wouldn’t see me indulging each day!
I, uh, did gain weight.
Depends on the country.
England: real ale, street kebabs, fish and chips, scones with clotted cream
Netherlands: poffertjes (tiny pancakes)
France: amen to the Nutella crepes. Also just plain old sucre burre (sugar and butter) crepes.
Belgium: frites especiel (sp.?) Fries with chopped onion, curry ketchup and mayo. Yum.
Interesting that most of these things are food I would buy on the street.
thank for sharing this post ^__^