Caffé d’Italia provides a myriad of flavors.
Photos by John Gantus
More Than Just Ice Cream
By Sarah Hofman
After spending a week in Cagli, an American might think gelato is more a social event than a frozen treat, a reason to relax, chat, and simply enjoy a beautiful day with friends. A small town in which people have known each other years, Cagli features two gelaterias around its main piazza. While enjoying a cup of gelato at Caffé d’Italia or a cone at Gelateria Artigianale, one finds each store has its own atmosphere.
Caffé d’Italia is a family-owned café that sells gelato among many other delicious foods and treats. Part owner Donato Bucci says that Caffé d’Italia has the best gelato around. Bucci has worked at the café for 28 years and was there when the family introduced gelato to the menu 22 years ago. The introduction of gelato to the café was in response to the absence of gelato in Cagli. The Bucci family saw a need for this traditional Italian dessert and took the opportunity to bring it to Cagli, an opportunity they never regretted. Caffé d’Italia is known for its relaxed atmosphere and large outdoor seating area in front of the café where many locals come to hang out with friends, grab a cappuccino, eat panini, and of course grab a cone of gelato while watching life on the piazza, talking to friends or on their way to the next event of the day.
Like many others, the owners of Caffé d’Italia make their own gelato. Making gelato is not difficult, however, taking time to make the gelato – about 10 minutes for each flavor – is quite time consuming. Because Caffé d’ Italia sells more than just gelato, the café is only able to make 20 flavors compared to some that make 30 or more. A way that the café makes the gelato stand out is the use of the freshest ingredients. Slowly taking his time, Bucci pours a vibrant orange syrup into a cream and proceeds to let it slowly run into a machine called the Gelatomatic. The machine runs for about 10 minutes, shifting and shaking the liquid. A soft frost grows on the outside as the liquid begins to freeze. Once the liquid has softly frozen into gelato, Bucci moves it into a metal tin, making a beautiful design.
Produced By Mary Deneen
The main difference between gelato and ice cream is the lack of dairy in gelato. Although some gelato does include cream or sometimes milk, for the most part, gelato does not use as much dairy product. Gelato is also a very delicate frozen treat that needs a special freezer so that the gelato does not get too frozen and hard or too warm and melt.
Gelato’s softness allows it to be shaped and molded into beautiful swirls and squiggles unlike hard frozen ice cream. Thus gelato can be teased into beautiful presentations.
The customers of Caffé d’ Italia’s gelato vary from toddlers to the old, each having their favorite flavors. Bucci says that the popularity of the flavors definitely depends on the weather. If it is a hot sunny day or a warm night, most Cagliese like to eat the sorbet flavors like strawberry and lemon, however, traditional chocolate is also always a favorite. When asked what he prefers, Bucci says that he does not really eat the gelato. Although it is the best gelato around, the fact that he makes it and has it around him all day makes it unappealing in his eyes.
Donato Bucci serves another happy customer.
Most customers are usually indulging in gelato during pausa or after dinner in the evening, however, during Wednesday market days, some people will request it in the morning. Sundays some families will even order larger quantities of gelato to take home for an after dinner dessert. This, however, is not a weekday event.
Gelateria Artigianale is about a block away from Caffé d’Italia. Bianca Baldelli opened Gelateria Artigianale about five years ago when the Baldelli family noticed that there were no cafes solely dedicated to gelato, only cafes like Caffé d’Italia that sold some gelato but mostly other foods and drinks. The family decided to design the store so that there would be more flavor choices and a place that kids, teenagers, and adults could come for a gelato.
The atmosphere of Gelateria Artigianale is quiet for a place where many teenagers hang out, perhaps because it has a separate room where one can sit to eat. The lack of outdoor seating also makes this gelateria different from Caffé d’Italia. Lacking outdoor tables, customers seem more willing to stand in the main room and chat with the Baldelli family and other customers while deciding which flavors are most appealing.
Vibrant colors and 30 different flavors of gelato hit one’s eyes upon entering the shop. Rows of bright hued gelato rest on display behind fingerprint-free glass, threatening to overwhelm the first-time visitor. There is no rush to decide. Baldelli and the other workers are very helpful in recommending flavors to those who just can’t decide. Signs with pictures of fruit and chocolate bars also help those who don’t speak Italian to identify each flavor.
Baldelli wakes up every other morning around 6 a.m. to have time to make 30 different flavors of gelato, a six-hour process. While scooping a finished batch of gelato from the machine into effortless piece of art with a spatula, Baldelli says that it is not difficult to make the gelato, however, it is time-consuming and she has to wake up early so that she can be done before lunch.
Sometimes she will experiment with flavors, but Baldelli says that she doesn’t do it often, because people mostly like chocolate, nutella, and almost all the fruit flavors. During the winter Baldelli reduces the number of flavors to the 16 or 18 people prefer in colder weather.
Some prefer cups instead of cones.
Two times each day are the busiest for the Gelateria Artigianale: lunchtime and after about 9 p.m. Business jumps when Cagli has other events, Baldelli says, whether holidays or market days. These long, hard days provide the best business.
Although all types of people come into the Gelateria Artigianale, Baldelli’s typical customers are young people – mostly around the age of her 16-year-old son. Perhaps young people come to the shop because it only sells gelato, some desserts, and slushies. Or the lack of outdoor seating may give them a sense of privacy.
One group of girls comes quite frequently, almost daily. Baldelli says that this group of three girls comes after school, and they are her best customers. The girls say that they like to come to the gelateria to hang out with their friends after school and to eat the gelato. Baldelli says that some of the customers even come three times a day!
Overall, whether dedicated to selling gelato or supplying it to their customers, each café has an experience of its own. Caffé d’Italia is a place where you will find a range of locals hanging out talking and enjoying many things from conversations, panini, and coffee, to the Internet, wine, and gelato. And most likely at night you will find a large group of people sitting in front of the café, some eating gelato, some enjoying the company of others.
Gelateria Artigianale makes going out for gelato an event. Looking forward to what flavor you will try next to the simple joy of getting to see the gelato gleam from the freezers that hold it like a rare jewel.
Web production by Mac Hansen
