Italian Gelato Flavors You Need To Know Before You Visit Italy

Need an easy language lesson in Italy? How about getting one while also sinking your teeth into some famous, scrumptious Italian gelato? Your Italian lesson starts the moment you peer through the glass case to select your flavors…and have no idea what the cards say or how to pronounce the one you’re pointing to. The adventurous might just order a few scoops of the cold dessert without knowing what they are about to slurp up, while the more calculated sweat it out to see if they can do some Italian ice cream translation on the fly.

If you want to know your gelato gusti (or flavors) you can learn them right on your flights to Italy. Here is a simple guide to 14 Italian gelato flavors that are among the most popular ones you will find at the gelateria.

Creamy, Chocolatey & Nutty

Fior di latte (sweet cream)

(Pronounced: fyôr/dee/LAH/tey)

Cioccolato Fondente: Dark Chocolate

Nocciola (hazelnut)

Stracciatella (vanilla chocolate chip)

(Pronounced: strah/CHya/tell/LAH)

This is sort of like the Italian version of cookies and cream. The base is usually fior di latte (mentioned above) and hot fudge or chocolate syrup is then drizzled on top of the freshly-made, cold gelato so that the chocolate hardens quickly. Although not uniform, once the hardened fudge is broken up into tiny bits and pieces, they taste a lot like the chocolate chips we know and love. The final step is t mix it all together, and voila, you have stracciatella gelato!

MWAHH! The word bacio means kiss in Italian, but don’t worry — you don’t need to pucker up to take a taste! Similar to Hersey’s signature candy “Kiss” the Umbria-based Perugina chocolate company has the “Bacio”.  The Bacio is chocolate with chopped hazelnuts mixed in. The gelato flavor derived from this sweet treat has both bits of the chocolate-hazelnut Bacio candy in it, as well as crushed hazelnut pieces as well.

Caffé (coffee)

(Pronounced: kah/Fay)

Mandorla (almond)

(Pronounced: mahn/dôr/laH)

Zuppa Inglese (English trifle)

(Pronounced: tSoo/pah  een/glay/Say)

This literally translates to “English soup”…but stay with us on this one. No, this not a creamy take on chicken noodle or cabbage soup, we promise. This flavor is named after the popular British dessert called “trifle” — a scrumptious dish made of alternating layers of custard and sweet, alcohol-soaked sponge cake. Since this dessert is usually made in a large glass bowl, much like a soup, this flavor of gelato took on the interpretation. The base of zuppa Inglese is made with cream and often flavored with a sweet wine such as Sherry (to mimic the flavors in a trifle) and bits of vanilla cookies are crushed into it to act as the sponge cake.

Pistacchio (pistachio)

(Pronounced: pees|tah/Kyô)

As one of the signature Italian gelato flavors, you’ll find at almost any and every gelateria, pistacchio is a good indicator of the quality of the gelato of the establishment making it. Although more pleasing to the eye, the color should not be a bright or shocking green as we’re used to seeing pistachio ice creams. Instead, you’ll know your pistacchio gelato is of the best quality if it’s a pale, dusty green.