It is high summer so let’s deal with that most important of topics – how to ask for an ice cream and the flavour you want.
If you see the words “gelato artigianale” you know you are getting traditional ice cream.
Have you ever been overwhelmed by the array of flavours you have seen in a gelateria? Often they are labelled and it is obvious what they are but here is a guide:
Arancia – orange
Sanguinello – blood orange
Fragola – strawberry
Lampone – raspberry
Limone – lemon
Mandarino – mandarin
Melone – melon
Amarena – black cherry
Albicocca – apricot
Frutti di bosco – forest fruits
Mela verde – green apple
Pesca - peach
Pompelmo – grapefruit
Gelsomino – jasmine
Gelsi – mulberry
Pistacchio – pistacchio [the “cc” is hard , pronounced like a “k”]
Nocciola – hazelnut
Cannella – cinnamon
Caffè – coffee
Torrone – nougat
Fior di latte – literally “flower of the milk” – a creamy flavour
Cioccolato – chocolate
Stracciatella – fior di latte with pieces of chocolate
Bacio – “kiss”, named for the famous “baci” chocolates
Zuppa inglese – “trifle”
This is not an exhaustive list as Italian ice cream makers are always devising new flavours. The BBC has a funny story about asking for “pompelmo” ice cream here.
Asking for an ice-cream
If the ice cream flavours are not on show or if you are sitting outside, you can ask:
Che gusti ci sono? What flavours are there?
If you want a cone, you ask for
Un cono
If you want more than one, you ask for
coni
If you want a dish of ice cream, you ask for
Una coppa
Most bars have large, medium or small plastic dishes in which the ice ctream is served so you can ask for
una coppa piccola
una coppa media
or
una coppa grande
Then you say “di” and the flavours you want. Usually people ask for two or three flavours. So you could ask for
Una coppa grande di amarena e melone – a large dish of black cherry and melon flavours
Now, do you remember our noun plurals and adjectives lesson?
If you want more than one dish, you ask for
coppe
If you want two small dishes, you ask for
due coppe piccole
Two medium dishes would be
due coppe medie
and two large dishes would be
due coppe grandi
If you want a more elegant dish, you can ask for
una coppa di vetro – a glass dish
On a blazingly hot day, there is nothing more refreshing than a granita, which is flavoured syrup served in the form of crushed ice.
You ask for :
una granita + al + masculine flavour name, eg:
una granita al limone – a lemon granita
una granita + alla + feminine flavour name, eg:
una granita alla fragola – strawberry granita
una granita + all’ + flavour name beginning with a vowel
eg: una granite all’albicocca – an apricot granita
You would ask for
una granita ai gelsi
because gelsi are plural.
But don’t worry if you can’t remember all the prepositions – you will be understood and the bar staff will be happy that you are trying to use Italian!
Happy gelato tasting from Italy Magazine!
