Italy is known for their gelato. You can find a gelateria on every corner of Italy’s big cities. Unfortunately, not all gelato is true authentic gelato. I will tell you what to look for when looking for fake vs authentic gelato.
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Italy’s has many tourist scams. This one deserves a spot on that list, because honestly, no one should think they got the best gelato in town when all they actually got was fluffed up air.
Let’s be honest here, you didn’t travel all the way to Italy to not get the best gelato you could possibly get!
If you’ve ever been to Italy, you know about those ‘gelato’ shops with hundreds of big mounts of colorful gelato. While it definitely looks tasty, you’re literally paying for air. This is not real, authentic gelato!
Unfortunately, just asking the shop owner probably won’t help. Why would they tell you it’s fake gelato when you can’t tell the difference anyway? I’ll give you some tips, so next time you do know how to tell if the owner is bullshitting you or not.
Here are 3 things to look for when buying yourself this refreshing treat on a hot summer’s day in Italy.
- Authentic gelato is made with milk. Fake gelato is made with cream. The fake gelato is whipped up so it creates these big, beautiful ice cream mountains, but they deflate during the day.
Real gelato is stored in flat containers, sometimes even closed with a lid, so you can’t even see the gelato. The milk melts faster than the cream, so the real gelato has to be stored cool. The most practical way is to store it as close to the container and freeze elements under the display as possible.
So if you can see the big mounts of gelato, it’s fake. It’s literally air that’s holding the gelato up in this shape. They try to impress you with the big, colorful mounts, but don’t fall for it!
2. If a shop has a lot of flavors, it’s probably not real gelato. It’s impossible to make so many flavors without using factories. Try to look for places with about 15 flavors maximum. The less the better!
3. If the gelato has bright, unnatural colors, it’s not real gelato. Banana flavor isn’t bright yellow! and pistachio is not hulk green, it’s earthy and dull. Gelato is made with fresh and natural ingredients and so should the color be.
Also think of it this way. If the shop has even one bright flavor, like a blue Smurfs one, the rest is most likely fake gelato as well. Why would they make everything real except for one? The answer is they don’t.
4. Look for seasonal flavors. If the fruit isn’t sold fresh locally, they probably needed artificial flavoring/coloring to make it.
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Life is too short to not have the best gelato. Now you know the difference between fake vs authentic gelato, so you will never be scammed when buying this refreshing treat ever again!
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