Thanks to President Reagan, who in 1984 issued a proclamation (No. 5219 in the Federal Archives), the month of July is National Ice Cream Month. In his edict the President enjoined all Americans to celebrate the month with "appropriate ceremonies and activities."
Proclamations like this are among the important duties of heads of state, but I suspect if Giorgio Napolitano, the president of Italy, had issued a similar decree, he would be laughed out of office. That's because in Italy every month, indeed, every day, is already devoted to a celebration of ice cream.
At least that's the conclusion I keep coming back to after every trip to that country, including one just recently to Rome, where, I discovered, Italian ice cream--or gelato, as they call it--is more fantastico than ever.
Actually, it's misleading to equate gelato with ice cream. They have about as much in common as Sophia Loren does with the Food Network's Barefoot Contessa. Gelato is twice as dense as regular ice cream and far more intense in flavor. No wonder that for Italians it's practically a basic food group. Their appetite for it does not abate during winter and they even eat it for breakfast!
None of this surprises me. After all, the Italians have had lots of time to perfect the treat, going all the way back to the Emperor Nero who essentially created the first version of it. But what did surprise me on this last visit to the Eternal City is how posh gelato has become.
Sure, they're still selling gallons of the traditional stuff at gelato temples like Giolitti's, where Michelle Obama took her daughters when they were in town, or San Crispino near the Trevi Fountain, once anointed by the New York Times as the best gelateria in Rome, where they keep their gelato covered in stainless steel containers and won't serve it in cones because, they contend, the cones might sully the gelato's flavor.
Lately, however, any number of artisanal gelateria have sprung up to challenge these places every bit as much as Brutus ever challenged Caesar. One of these, for example, is Fatamorgana, just up the street from where we stayed in the Monti district. The minute we walked in and spotted flavors like fennel and honey, pear and gorgonzola, and basil and walnuts, we knew we were not in an ordinary shop.
Similarly, at Il Gelato, not far from the Colliseum, we were offered both cream of bell pepper and habenero gelato, just two of some 100 flavors on the menu there. My favorite, believe it or not, was the cream of celery.
Then there is V-ice, on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, perhaps the most glamorous gelateria in all of Rome. Its futuristic interior, which reminds some people of the inside of an igloo, is as innovative as its flavors. There you can order watermelon and basil gelato, or buffalo mozzarella and fig gelato, or even salmon gelato with asparagus cream.
In the face of such trendy flavors, which give new meaning to the concept of cold comfort, traditional pistachio, stracciatella, or even tiramisu gelato seem so, well, yesterday. And, in Rome anyway, they really are.
Celery Gelato
Try this recipe, adapted from em-i-lis.com, and you can do as the Romans do, even when you're not in Rome: enjoy the most refreshing gelato imaginable.
6 stalks celery, including leaves, cut into chunks
1/4 cup packed lemon balm leaves
1 and 1/2 teaspoons celery seeds, divided
1 cup cream
1/4 cup milk or half and half
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 drops green food coloring
* Combine celery, lemon balm, and 1 teaspoon celery seeds and add just enough water to cover.
* Boil for 35-40 minutes or until celery is soft. Puree mixture in a blender, then strain. There should be about 1 and 1/3 cups celery juice.
* Toast remaining 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds. Whisk together cream, milk, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking often, and allow to boil for two minutes.
* Remove from heat, whisk in celery juice, food coloring and toasted celery seeds. Chill until cold and freeze in ice cream or gelato maker following manufacturer's directions.
Tom Harte's book, "Stirring Words," is available at local bookstores. A Harte Appetite airs Fridays 8:49 a.m. on KRCU, 90.9 FM. Contact Tom at semissourian.com or at the Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699.
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