Nutella Ban; Gelato Safe...For Now

You know. It's not just about the packaging. It's about eating habits. Balanced diets. The EU mulls over demanding Nutella labelling be changed.

But hey. Whatever makes them feel like they're doing something to help us poor suckers.

Personally, I love Nutella. I'm not a nut about it (excuse the pun - Nutella is made with hazelnuts) and know how to integrate it into an overall diet. It's all about the right attitude.

Alas, the state cares not a whit for responsible lads like me.

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Since I'm on the subject of fun food, here's a nice article on Italian gelato.

"Overrun is a measure of air which is injected into the ice cream during production. A high overrun means a lot of air is added to the ice cream during the making, low overrun means there is not much air added.



Typical North American-style ice cream can have an overrun of 100% or more. This literally means that half of the ice cream by volume is composed of air. In contrast, artisan gelato has a much smaller overrun, around 30-40%. But some less scrupulous Italian gelato makers have figured out that a higher overrun can cut ingredient and raw material costs. So steer clear of frothy, excessively sculpted and over abundant gelato: it's mostly all air.


At an authentic gelateria, the gelato is made from scratch daily. Unlike many overseas ice cream parlors, the gelato here is made on the premises. True Italian gelato is not produced in large quantities and then stored. There are no preservatives added to create an artificially long shelf life, so typically, gelato is made fresh for consumption within a day or two.


The combination of extreme freshness, low butterfat and low overrun results in a product that is denser, creamier and more intense than traditional ice cream. It is served at a warmer temperature than ice cream and has a cleaner, more smooth perception on the palate."

Bingo.

When I was in Florence in the mid 1990s, I damn near blew my budget on fricken gelato it was that amazing.