No walking holiday in Italy would be complete without a gelato!
It is hot, hot, hot at the moment here in southern Europe. And what better way to cool down than with a tasty ice cream? There is something about an ice cream that suggests holiday time as I’m sure we don’t all indulge quite as much in this sweat treat at home as we do when on holiday! The Italians are of course, the masters in the ice cream making business so why not enjoy a walking holiday in Italy, on Lake Como or Lake Maggiore and savour this delicious and refreshing dessert on a (almost) daily basis?
A little history on ice cream
Whilst Italy is credited for expanding sorbets and ice cream throughout Europe, sorbets have in fact been around for centuries, and were not invented by the Italians at all, but by the Chinese who added fruit to shaved ice or snow to create a refreshing sweet treat. We know that Roman Emperors enjoyed sorbets, but it was many years later that dairy was incorporated into the recipe to make the ice cream that we all know and love and that first appeared in a Neapolitan 18th century cookbook.
Indulge in a delicious ice cream (or two) on your Italy lake region walking trip
The ‘gelato’ is the pride of a whole country. Made with milk rather than cream, it is whipped less and therefore has less air, a dense texture and a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth flavour. It is considered a meal in itself and the good news is that it is lower in fat that other frozen desserts! So yes, this means that you can certainly enjoy one a day on your Italy lake region walking stay and not feel at all guilty about the calories!
Where to find an Italian ice cream on your walking tour of Italy?
There are ice cream shops, ‘gelaterias’, everywhere in Italy and many are homemade and often served as a takeaway. You will find the more traditional flavours of ice cream such as chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, pistachio and Stracciatella (with chunky chocolate bits) but there is also a wide choice of fruit sorbets, including red fruits and citrus fruits. They all look wonderfully colourful and so deliciously tempting that it can take a while to choose… but that’s ok because you’re on holiday, you have all the time in the world!
