The Scoop on Gelato

This Italian export has won fans all over the world

- Renée S. Suen

WE ALL SCREAM for ice cream, but for gelato, we swoon. Sculpted into smooth waves that beckon from behind glass counters, gelato is denser than ice cream, with flavors more pronounced. Because gelato is made with more milk and less cream, it's also lower in calories. In fact, its lower butterfat helps its natural flavors shine through.

Though home freezers weren't available until the 1940s, frozen treats are far from modern marvels: Egyptian pharaohs served their guests ice sweetened with fruit juice, and Romans mixed crushed ice from Mount Vesuvius with honey. Many believe that the origin of gelato is actually a Chinese recipe that Marco Polo brought back to Italy around the end of the 13th century. It called for milk and spices to be mixed with overcooked rice and snow.