I am a strong advocate of having gelato twice a day when you’re in Italy. Why? It’s an inexpensive treat, for one, and it gives you a chance to interact with Italians while simultaneously expanding your vocabulary. Because, after all, you’re not going to order the same gelato flavor over and over again, are you?
Of course not. Because you’re an adventurer. Because you’re curious about life. And? Because you’ll be armed with this list of Italian gelato flavors, how to pronounce them, and what they mean.
The Italian word for chocolate is cioccolato (cho|koh|LAH|toh), but of course the Italians would never be content to leave it at one kind of chocolate. There are multiple versions of chocolate, from varying degrees of dark-to-milk-to-white to other flavors being added to the recipe. There’s even a gelateria in Milan that specializes in chocolate gelato, with nearly all of the containers in the case devoted to one form of chocolate or another. In short, if you’re a chocoholic, you’ll have plenty to choose from in Italian gelato.
● cioccolato fondente (cho|koh|LAH|toh fon|DEN|teh) – This is Italian for “dark chocolate,” and you can usually tell right away that’s what it is by its darker (sometimes nearly-black) color. There’s an even darker version, called cioccolato fondente extra noir.
● cioccolato al latte (cho|koh|LAH|toh ahl LAH|tay) – This is “milk chocolate,” for those of you who aren’t dark chocolate aficionados. (Honestly, I don’t understand you, but – hey! – more dark chocolate for me!)
● bacio (BAH|chyo) – This word actually means “kiss,” but the gelateria isn’t trying to get fresh with you. Just as Hershey’s has its signature Kiss, the Perugina chocolate company from Perugia in Umbria has its Bacio. The candies are a mix of chocolate and chopped hazelnuts, and the bacio gelato flavor is a chocolate-hazelnut combination. Because the candies themselves have bits of hazelnuts in them, the gelato usually does, too.
● gianduja or gianduia (jahn|DOO|yah) – It can be spelled either way, although it’s pronounced the same. Like bacio, this is another chocolate-hazelnut combination. This time, it’s completely smooth, and it’s always milk chocolate. It’s the signature flavor of the Piedmont region, and is the historic precursor to Nutella.
● cioccolato all’arancia (cho|koh|LAH|toh ahl|ah|RAHN|cha) – Do you guys remember those chocolate oranges you’d get at Christmas? The ones you’d crack against a table to break into segments? Yeah, that’s what this flavor – chocolate orange – reminds me of. It’s usually a dark chocolate with an intense orange flavor, sometimes also including little bits of candied orange peel.
● cioccolato con peperoncini (cho|koh|LAH|toh kohn peh|pehr|ohn|CHEE|nee) – Maybe you’re thinking of those pickled green peppers you sometimes get with sandwiches, but that’s not what “peperoncini” is in this case. This is essentially a chocolate (usually dark chocolate) infused with a hot pepper flavor. I’ve also heard of a similar kind of flavor called cioccolato all’azteca (cho|koh|LAH|toh ahl|az|TEH|kah), which is akin to Mexican hot chocolate, infused with both a hot peppery flavor and cinnamon.
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