As we celebrate another exciting National food holiday – (yes, today is National Mint Chocolate Day), I’d like to bring your attention to a noteworthy Mint Chocolate item that I found quite delightful. This item comes from Fusion Coffeehouse in Ridgeland’s The Township.
Mint Chocolate Chip Gelato.
I have often heard of gelato… but honestly, I wasn’t quite certain what it is or how it differed from ice cream.
But that all changed after a little “come-to-gelato” meeting with Tripp Douglas, owner and friendly face at Fusion Coffeehouse. Now you, too, can have the Gelato 411 and enjoy this tasty treat on this National Mint Chocolate Day!
Mint Chocolate Chip Gelato from Fusion Coffeehouse
Eat Jackson: What exactly is Gelato?
Tripp: The great thing about gelato is that it’s really just ice cream the way it was originally made, before the industrial revolution. It’s made with whole, natural ingredients, and it contains HALF the fat of regular ice cream. That’s because to make typical American ice cream, the manufacturers took the basic recipe of gelato and then diluted it with extra fat and extra air… to make it go farther. So gelato is like removing all that extra fluff and fat and getting back to the way it was meant to be: dense and full of flavor.
Here is the history of Gelato, in a nutshell: Gelato and sorbet have been made in Europe since the Roman Empire. In 1770, an Italian named Giovanni Bosio came to America and introduced this novelty. With the arrival of technology and industry, the Americans adjusted the process to enable mass production (including the addition of more fat and more air content), creating what we now know as American ice cream. But our gelato is a return to the artisan recipes perfected by Italians over the centuries.
Eat Jackson: So Gelato is actually healthier than Ice Cream?
Tripp: Yes! It is made with pure, natural, and whole ingredients. And it contains significantly less butterfat than ice cream.
Eat Jackson: Great to hear! I did notice that, as I was eating my oh-so-tasty Mint Chocolate Chip Gelato, it tasted richer and creamier than ice cream.
Tripp: That is why the serving size is a little smaller. Gelato contains less than half the air content as ice cream. That means every bite is much more dense and heavy.
Basically, you get significantly more content per bite… less fluff, more flavor!
Eat Jackson: That explains it! So where do you get your Gelato?
Tripp: Our gelato and sorbetti is made by a gelateria in Florida, which is run by an Italian couple named Guido and Simona Faroni. They are passionate about making authentic Italian ice cream, and it shows in their product. We are excited to share this delicious Italian treat with you at Fusion Coffeehouse!
Eat Jackson: Sorbetti, you say?
Tripp: Our sorbets, called sorbetti, are made using fresh fruit and contain no milk, cream, or fats. They are naturally 100% fat free, making them the healthiest of all!
Eat Jackson: Well I can definitely tell that this Mint Chocolate Chip Gelato is better than your run-of-the-mill Mint Chocolate Ice Cream from the grocery store. And now that I know all of this information about Gelato, it makes me appreciate it even more!
Tripp: Glad you liked it! Come by and try another flavor sometime. We’ve got several!
As far as we know, Fusion is one of the only places we know of that serves Gelato. Go try it out sometime. We hope you find it to be as fantastic as we think it is!
What is your favorite flavor – and what say you on the subject of Gelato?
Fusion Coffeehouse
The Township at Colony Park
1111 Highland Colony Pkwy Ste A
Ridgeland, MS 39157
(601) 856-6001
fusioncoffeehouse.com
Price: $
So thankful for this article. I love gelato and up until last year I had a terrible time trying to find a place here in Jackson that served it. It is very easy to find back home in San Diego and in Houston where I often go to visit friends. I finally found some amazing gelato last year at the Coffee Roastery down by Thalia Mara Hall. I went in for a soy latte and it was a wonderful surprise to find a display of gelato as well.
So glad you liked this post, Kim! Fusion rotates several flavors, but every day they have 6 or 7 different kinds. Definitely worth a visit. We will have to stop in and try some next time we’re near Coffee Roastery! Thanks for the info!