“Firenze Gelato Festival 2013”

Hello to all,

as mentioned earlier, Saturday, May 18, 2013 we took a ride  to Florence, Italy,  for the “Firenze Gelato Festival 2013” (“Florence Ice Cream Festival 2013”)

Luckily, after a week of rain, the weather was kind to us and saved us a bad adventure … even if we were prepared and brought umbrellas in case of bad weather!

Are you curious about the news of this event??

I please you immediately …

Upon arriving at Santa Maria Novella square, just a few steps from the railway station, we purchased the coupons with which we were entitled to 5 gelato (italian ice cream) tastes plus one gelato cocktail for 10 €.

There was also a free coupon  through which we could take the complimentary kit: bag shopper of the event, guide, Eni promotional flyer and a packet of Bussy cannolini cookies  to better enjoy gelato tasting.

We completed the long, but relatively fast (the guys in the booth were well-organized) line and  we headed to what we really cared about: gelato (italian ice cream).

The Festival took place in 3 very beautiful and characteristic squares of Florence, Santa Maria Novella (as mentioned above), Storti (where there was a “Japanese village”) and piazza della Repubblica (entirely dedicated to  Sammontana ice cream company).

Right at the  Sammontana boot  in Piazza della Repubblica we devoted no more than five minutes of our time, just to take a couple of pictures and throw in the trash what they think was the taste of the event: “Cantuccini and Vin Santo” (I’m just a passionate, not an ice cream vendor, but my recipe for “cream Vin Santo with nooks” has literally “turned in its grave” as we say in Italy …).

Too much in everything: too much sugar, too much alcohol … let’s stop here, it was just an industrial ice cream!

At the Japanese village of Storti Square, facing the famous palace, the Cultural Association Tokaghe was selling gadget themed films and provided information on programming at the Odeon cinema for the Review of “Japanese Cinema 2013”; you could also enjoy a tasty rice gelato and a fairly good green tea gelato (unfortunately I like only very light green tea and the taste of their gelato was a little overbearing).

The highlight of the event took place in Santa Maria Novella square with dozens of ice-cream stalls full of mouth-watering delicacies from citrus cream to  black Lomellina rice gelato , where we tasted many more really interesting and special flavors.

The taste we liked  most of all was the homonym “Aquolina” (“mouth-watering”) gelato: a mascarpone (italian soft cheese) cream variegated with “microbignoline bassinate” drowned in a cream and caramelized with hazelnuts and cocoa …

The name says it all!

Another really interesting gelato taste was also  Panettone gelato from “Le botteghe di Leonardo” gelato shops, maybe a little ‘off period’  but produced with really genuine, quality, products, as said the company’s CEO Lorenzo Marconi, who also gave me the idea for a new gelato flavor that I will introduce soon .

In addition, always in the same square, at the ” Orion Village”, you could take part to the  “ice-cream maker for one  day” course promoted by Babbi company, where they explained the equipment, ingredients and techniques for gelato production , or choose to attend to  the “Gelato Cooking Show”  where famous chefs like  Vissiani and Rugiati  performed alternating with professional gelato makers like  Alessandro Malotti who prepared real  delicacies.

And just Malotti made, live, a “zuccotto fiorentino” (skullcap cake) gelato style and soon you will see it repeated by me in both, the original version and a revised version.

Also in  Santa Maria Novella square there was a real mobile laboratory, named “Buontalenti,” so named in honor of the gelato inventor , where you could see, through a completely transparent side,  the various gelato makers create their best recipes.

Throughout the glass frame, just at the height of my eyes I could peek at the various products used for the preparations and I’m relieved because I found that they used the same of mine …

Unfortunately, as has already happened in Orvieto, the stands did not present the list of gelato ingredients, even if here in Florence the master gelato makers were all present and available to the public.

In addition, the quality of gelato at the Florence festival was much higher than that of Orvieto, which however was logistically better organized.

See you soon!

Valentina Pacini