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The History of Gelato dates back to the 16th century.
There is some confusion in the origin as to where or who really invented gelato.
As most stories go, it is credited to Bernardo Buontalenti, a native of Florence,
who delighted the court of Catherina dei Medici with his creation. Italians are
certainly credited with introducing gelato to the rest of Europe; with Sicilian
born Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli who undoubtedly was one of the most
influential individuals in the history of gelato, as one of the first to sell
it to the public. Summoned to Paris in 1686, he opened a café named after himself
called “Café Procope”, which quickly became one of the most celebrated haunts
of the literary establishment in France. In Italy meanwhile, the art of
traditional gelato making was passed on from father to son, improved and
perfected right up to the 20th century, when many gelato makers began to
emigrate, taking their know-how to the rest of Europe.
Gelato in Italian literally means "frozen", but it basically used to indicate
the Italian type of ice cream. One of the basic differences between Gelato
and the ice cream we know of in the United States is that it doesn’t contain
as much air, and is therefore more intense in flavor. In part, Gelato is
healthier than American-style ice cream since it is made with all natural
ingredients and contains fewer calories and less butter fat. Our Gelato is
made fresh on the premises so that we can bring you the highest quality
product around.
History suggests that human beings have for centuries been inventive
enough to create the coolest and most refreshing drinks for
the hottest seasons simply by using fruits, flavors, and if
possible, ice or snow.
If we go back to the beginning there is considerable confusion about times, places and people. We do not know who invented the ice-cream we now know and love, but it is a "scenario" with a number of "actors", all of whom Italian. But we can narrow the choice down to three contenders: Ruggeri and Buontalenti, both from Florence, and a Sicilian, Procopio dei Coltelli.
We do know however that sweets and fruit juices have been refrigerated
ever since ancient times by many peoples and all social classes, especially in Asia Minor.
We may quote the Bible and the story of Isaac that offers Abraham goat's milk mixed with snow, telling him to "EAT and DRINK: the sun is torrid and you can cool down."
We may deduce that it was a sorbet-type iced milk, otherwise they would have said only "DRINK".
Thus was it Abraham that first tasted ice-cream? Maybe. And although with reservations, some scholars
of the holy scriptures state that when harvesting the grain in Palestine landowners distributed blocks
of snow to their servants. As in later times, this snow was collected and compressed in the winter
in ad hoc constructions so that it would last until the summer. It appears that even King Solomon
consumed quite a lot. When there was no snow man still managed to "make" ice, discovering a way to
obtain it: by rooms, where water vapour would freeze on the rocks. In Egypt the Pharoahs would offer
their guests silver chalices divided into two halves, one containing snow and the other fruit juices.
In ancient Rome we discover the first recipe for a kind of ice-cream, written by general Quinto Fabio
Massimo, which soon became popular.
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