GELATO FLAVORS & PRONUNCIATION

  • fior di latte (FYOR dee LAH|tay) – This literally means “flower of milk,” and it’s a very subtle flavor. Not quite vanilla, it’s more akin to what you might call “sweet cream.” It can serve as the base from which many other flavors are built, and it’s also really lovely on its own.

  • crema (KREH|mah) – This means “cream,” and you might find it similar to the ice cream flavor called “French vanilla” in other parts of the world. It’s a more eggy custard flavor, as opposed to a milk custard.

  • vaniglia (vah|NEEL|yah) – Here’s the Italian word for “vanilla,” which may be a popular ice cream flavor elsewhere, but in Italy it’s not very common (perhaps because there are so many other kinds of vanilla-like flavors available).

  • zabaione or zabaglione (zah|bah|YOH|neh, zah|bahl|YOH|neh) – This is a popular Italian dessert, a lightly whipped eggy custard flavored with Marsala wine, that’s often so liquidy as to be drinkable. The gelato form is eggy, custardy, Marsala-y – and delicious.

  • cocco (KOH|koh) – This is Italian for “coconut,” but the recipe varies from shop to shop. Sometimes it’s a creamy and light coconut flavor, sometimes there are bits of coconut in the gelato, sometimes it’s a little like toasted coconut.

  • caffè (kah|FEH) – You might be getting familiar with this word from ordering your morning coffee every day, but why not take your afternoon coffee in gelato form?

  • amarena (ah|mah|REH|nah) – This flavor could sort of go in a couple different categories, but I’m putting it here because it’s a cream base. The word means, more or less, “sour cherry,” and it’s typically fior di latte with sour cherries in a thick syrup swirled throughout. I don’t think the cherries are really very sour, but it’s also not cloyingly sweet, so maybe that’s all the “sour” part means. The cherries themselves are like the gorgeous brandied cherries you sometimes get in a nice cocktail. You may not get a whole cherry in your scoop, but you’ll definitely get their flavor.

  • fragola (FRAH|go|lah) – Strawberry

  • lampone (lahm|POH|neh) – Raspberry

  • pesca (PEHS|kah) – Peach

  • albicocca (al|bee|KOH|kah) – Apricot

  • pera (PEH|rah) – Pear

  • limone (lee|MOH|neh) – Lemon

  • lime (LEE|meh) – Lime (quite rare)

  • arancia (ah|RAHN|cha) – Orange

  • mandarino (mahn|dah|REE|noh) – Mandarin orange

  • tarocco (tah|ROH|koh) – Blood orange (not very common)

  • mela (MEH|lah) – Apple

  • mela verde (MEH|lah VEHR|deh) – Green apple

  • frutti di bosco (FROO|tee dee BOHS|koh) – This means “fruits of the forest,” and is usually a mix of things like blueberries and blackberries.

  • mirtillo (meer|TEEL|oh) – Blueberry

  • melone (meh|LOH|neh) – Melon, typically cantaloupe

  • cocomero (koh|KOH|meh|roh) or anguria (ahn|GOOR|yah) – Watermelon

  • fico (FEE|koh) – Fig

  • visciola (VEESH|yo|lah) – Sour cherry (not to be confused with amarena, this is the sorbetto version, with just fruit and no cream base)

  • ananas (AHN|ahn|ahs) – Pineapple

  • mango (MAHN|goh) – Mango

  • banana – (bah|NAH|nah) – This is just what you think it is. This is also, incidentally, one of the flavors that’s a good indicator of the quality of a shop’s gelato. Banana should be a pale creamy color, not bright yellow.

  • pistacchio (pee|STAHK|yoh) – This is exactly what you think it is, it’s just pronounced differently in Italian than English (it’s a hard K sound insted of an SH sound). Like banana, this is another indicator of a gelateria’s quality – if the pistacchio is a pale, dusty green, that’s a good thing. Bright green is not good.

  • mandorla (mahn|DOR|lah) – Almond

  • nocciola (noh|CHYO|lah) – Hazelnut

  • castagna (kahs|TAHN|yah) – Chestnut (not very common)

  • noce (NOH|cheh) – Walnut

  • stracciatella (strah|chya|TEL|lah) – This is something like the Italian version of vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips. They start with a base of fior di latte, and usually drizzle warm chocolate over the top of the freshly-made gelato. The chocolate hardens quickly on the cold surface, and then they stir the whole thing to miss the bits of chocolate into the gelato. The pieces, therefore, are not uniform – but the quality of the chocolate is usually excellent.

  • malaga (mah|LAH|gah) – Rum raisin

  • torrone (toh|ROH|neh) – Nougat

  • menta (MEN|tah) – Mint