''Stracciatella'' () is a variety of

gelato Gelato (; ; ) refers to a specific type of ice cream of Italian origin. In Italian, ''Gelato'' is the common word for all types of ice cream. Artisanal gelato in Italy generally contains 6–9% butterfat, which is lower than other styles of ...

with fine strands of drizzled

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

stirred through it. It was originally created in

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

, northern Italy, at the Ristorante La Marianna in 1961. ''Stracciatella'' was inspired by ''stracciatella'' soup, made from broth into which beaten egg is drizzled, popular around

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Description

Makers produce the effect by drizzling melted chocolate into plain milk ice cream towards the end of the churning process; the chocolate solidifies immediately after coming in contact with the cold ice cream, and is then broken up and incorporated into the ice cream with a

spatula A spatula is a broad, flat, flexible blade used to mix, spread and lift material including foods, drugs, plaster and paints. In medical applications, "spatula" may also be used synonymously with tongue depressor. The word ''spatula'' derives ...

. This process creates the shreds of chocolate that give ''stracciatella'' its name, the word meaning 'little shred' in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. While ''stracciatella'' ice cream traditionally involves milk ice cream and milk chocolate, modern variations can also be made with

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

and dark chocolate.

Origin

Enrico Panattoni, the owner of ''La Marianna'', a ''gelateria'' in

, in northern Italy, invented the dish in 1961. According to Panattoni, the idea came to him after he had grown tired of stirring eggs into broth to satisfy customers of his restaurant who kept asking for ''stracciatella'' soup. He was passionate about cooking and pastry and, after numerous experiments, he produced a white

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

made of

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

peppered with irregular pieces of

dark chocolate Dark chocolate is a form of chocolate made from cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar. It has a higher cocoa percentage than white chocolate, milk chocolate, and semisweet chocolate. Dark chocolate is valued for claimed—though unsupported— ...

. During the freezing process, he inserted a dose of melted dark chocolate that was instantly solidified and then shredded by the paddles of the ice-cream machine. The melted chocolate that solidifies and shatters in the batch freezer is reminiscent of the

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

that binds in the boiling broth of the ''stracciatella alla romana''. "''Stracciatella alla romana'' was the most famous consommé and, along with that soup, I was looking for an ice cream that could be loved and appreciated by my customers", said Panattoni.

Notes

References

{{Ice cream Flavors of ice cream Products introduced in 1962

Description

Origin

See also

Notes

References