Fab Finds; Sweet Ginger's Gelato

Have you ever had gelato? I mean REAL gelato! not the one that reads "gelato" in your grocery store freezer section.

It's one of the many amazing foods that Italians do so well. I remember being in Italy with my family years ago, drooling at the beautiful mounds of this sweet treat in gelateria's lining the streets; and my mother declaring with great enthusiasm, "I'm going to eat gelato every day!" And she did, sometimes twice a day. As a loyal daughter, I could not let her eat alone!

So when I heard a little buzz about a new gelato business opening in Southwest Florida, I was intrigued to say the very least. Now that I know the full story, I'm EXCITED.

Owner Denise Kulisz has a great story that you will be hearing more about; not just in SWFL but soon, nationwide. A former stay-at-home mom in Chicago, she decided to go into the food truck business to sell gelato. No, its not an "Ice Cream" truck it's a food truck; gelato is a food, a dessert food, but still food.

Success came quickly until someone pointed out that her "gelato" wasn't really authentic; a common problem in the US. So Kulisz went to Italy to see for herself. Long story short, she ended up in gelato school, bought the proper machines and then brought an Italian pro to Fort Myers to share his techniques and even some family recipes with her.

Kulisz then hired a well known local chef, Ruth Cohen, to lead her new, state of the art Gelato Lab in Fort Myers. Still practicing for perfection, I got to do a little sampling today and am in love. I tried cream, pistachio, hazelnut, chocolate and a non-dairy dark chocolate that tasted like a velvety mixture of mousse, ganache and pudding.....without milk or cream. Wow!

Gelato may taste rich but it actually has less fat than ice cream. Sweet Ginger's did not give me that sugary buzz and it was full of clean, distinct flavors. As of now Kulisz does not plan to have a local gelateria, but instead serve her cold elixir at special events, select restaurants and out of her food truck.

Nothing like a sweet treat to make all of your cares disappear. Welcome Sweet Ginger's Gelato! Can't wait to see your food truck roll up the next event I'm at!

Spreading the "Love"

One of the great things about being an adult is being able to eat dessert for dinner. (Thanks Sharon Arnold). That's exactly what I did last night at the media reception for Artisan Gelato by Norman Love.

The world-famous chocolatier now has a gelato  shop next to his Chocolate Salon and Artisan Bread shop in Fort Myers, FL. Love confessed last night, out of all of the sweet treats he is surrounded by, ice cream is his weakness.

I always knew that gelato had less fat than ice cream but since it was so much more creamy, I never really knew why. First of all, gelato is made from milk not cream, so it has half the butter fat. If it has half the fat, why is gelato so much more creamy and packed with flavor than ice cream? The later is whipped and filled with air in the churning process to make it feel and taste lighter; that also dilutes the flavors.

Love is picky about his ingredients, importing his pistachios and hazelnuts from Italy. He makes gelato in the Italian tradition, fresh everyday. He even brought in special equipment like a pasteurizer and the only Irinox flash freezer in the state; taking the gelato to 40 degrees below zero.

The gelato at Norman Love's has a 48 hour life span; its meant to be eatten as soon as it's made. Feeling the pressure I tried as many flavors as I could in an attempt to save the frozen decadence from meeting an uncivilized demise down the drain; Coconut, Peanut Butter Crunch, Hazelnut, Pistachio, Tiramisu, Mango Sorbetto, Mint Chocolate, Almond Mocha. Please don't ask me to pick a favorite.

The Gelato bowls start at $4.50, the cones at $5. You can also indulge in shakes, sorbetto frizzantes, coffees sundaes, cakes and crepes and waffles OH MY. Now that the gelato shop is running, Love says look for ice cream cakes full of gourmet goodness, grab and go pints and jarred toppings.

It's a must stop for a cool indulgence this summer!