Gelato
Ais Kacang is a Malaysian or Singaporean snow cone, all dolled up with sweet syrups, sweetened red beans, evaporated milk, grass jelly, sweet corn, and sometimes, stinky durian fruit, which is a real acquired taste. I've been told that if you can get it past your nose, durian tastes like a creamy, custard-y, combination of pears and ripe brie.
Gelato
In many ways gelato is very similar to typical North American ice cream, and yet, there is nothing typical about it. I think it has to do with the quality of the ingredients used; pristine fruits, super fine chocolate, the freshest nuts. The Italians have no fear of flavour, and so a lemon gelato is super-lemony and a coffee gelato is like a cup of icy espresso. A trip to a gelato shop is a wondrous thing. Rows and rows of flavours, piled high in jewel-like colours. Choosing is next to impossible, so thank goodness many shopkeepers encourage sampling.
Sorbetto
Sorbetto is gelato made with water in place of dairy ingredients. It's also known as sorbet, and as some Canadians back in the bad old days called it, sherbert. While gelato originates from northern Italy, sorbetto hails from the warmer south, and since it doesn't contain cloying milk fat, sorbetto is more refreshing than gelato or ice cream and a godsend for folks who suffer from lactose intolerance.
Semifreddo
Semifreddo means half-frozen in Italian. The Spanish call it semifrio. This is a chilled dessert, somewhere between a custard and mousse. Anyone can make at home as it doesn't require a fancy ice cream maker or any other special equipment, just a loaf pan or casserole and 24 hours in a freezer. The finished product can be scooped or for a more formal presentation, turned out and sliced.
Tartufo
Tartufo is Italian for truffle. As in the black, round, subterranean fungus. Not the chocolate truffle, which is also named after the fungus. Tartufo is named after the truffle because, like the chocolate truffle, it resembles the fungus. A ball of ice cream, often chocolate, is filled with a fruit sauce, or sorbetto, then the whole thing is covered in a shell of chocolate, nuts, or dusted with cocoa powder. A revelation to Canadian's in the 80s, it's now available in most grocery chains.
Page 2 of 3: Learn about Granita, soft serve, and frozen yogurt on page 3
