Berries
Raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, redcurrant ... berries are not often used in gelato parlours, because they are so expensive, but the results are amazing!
If you use fresh fruits, the percentage in the mixture has to be between 45 and 55%, depending on how much water they already contain.
With its slightly tart flavour, gelato made with quality products has a gentle pastel hue, very natural-looking with plenty of seeds.
It combines perfectly with fiordilatte, chocolate and whipped cream.
Peach
The peach (Prunus persica) is a tree native to China. It produces exceptional fruits, that are very pleasing to the palate, but also delicate and juicy, excellent for making sorbets and granitas, but also a fantastic gelato!
As well as common peaches, the most common variety available commercially (from June to September) are nectarines, with their smooth, shiny skins.
The percentage of fresh fruit should be at least 50%, and the end result is a fresh and delicate flavor which combines with virtually any other flavour, especially with blackberries and vanilla.
Give it a try and you will be hooked!
Apricot
Excellent picnic fare or a healthy snack, delicious freshly picked from the tree, apricots belong to the same family as peaches and cherries, and shares their strengths and weaknesses: full of flavour and rich in vitamins, it is sensitive to changes in the weather, to mold and parasites.
Apricot flavours need their acidity to be regulated and the water content of the raw material needs to be checked before balancing the mixture.
The perfect match? Banana, fiordilatte and strawberry.
Coconut
Tasting fresh coconut brings back memories of eating slices in the shade of a beach umbrella, or if we had a more exotic childhood, of eating freshly picked coconut straight from the tree in far-off lands.
Coconut pulp has an intense flavour and is naturally cooling and sweet.
Obviously, if you use fresh coconut, decide whether to use the milk, which you can also save for sorbets and granitas. Excellent combined with chocolate, but berries and fiordilatte are also outstanding “cone companions”.
Melon
The epitome of summer fruit, melons grow and ripen from June to September.
Containing plenty of sugar, water, fibre and vitamins, and used at a concentration of 50-60%, the fresh fruit gives a refreshing sweet hand-made gelato, excellent either on its own, or with whipped cream, pistachio and red berries.