Macarons and Gelato in Italy
If you are visiting Europe, you must be very excited about all of the food and desserts you will get to try on your trip. Macarons and gelato are two things Europe is greatly known for. When coming to Italy, I knew I would be eating a lot of gelato, but I was not sure if macarons were very common here. I assumed they were more of a French pastry. However, I discovered a pastry shop that sells both gelato and macarons. The gelato and macarons were also some of the best I have ever had. That is when I discovered it was by a famous pastry chef named Roberto Rinaldini.
Roberto Rinaldini
Award-winning pastry chef Rinaldini makes his Italian-style macarons using all-Italian ingredients. For example, the almonds used in the macarons are sent from Puglia and Sicily. You can choose at the shop from 18 different flavors. These flavors can either be exotic, such as saffron, licorice, and white chocolate with Tonka bean flavors, or they can be flavors that are more conventional. There are also chocolates, chocolate-based spreads, chocolate lollipops, drinking chocolate and a whole range of other mouth-watering, tasty looking pastries and cakes sold at the pastry shop. Rinaldini also has a passion for gelato (he has won the world ice-cream making championship). During the summer, part of the shop is dedicated to gelato. You will want to try the chocolate, pistachio, hazelnut or almond sorbet flavors during these months.
History of Macarons
The macaron cookie was first created in Italy. The chef of Catherine de Medicis introduced it in 1533. This was during the time of her marriage to the Duc d'Orleans who eventually became the king of France in 1547 as Henry II. The term "macaron" comes from the same origin as the word "macaroni". Both of these words mean "fine dough". The first Macarons were simple cookies. They are made of almond powder, sugar and egg whites. The color of macarons used to be simple as well. However, two renowned chefs experimented with macarons and created countless colors and flavors. There are so many colors, you cannot even imagine! It is said that the granddaughter of Catherine de Medici was saved from hunger by eating Macarons. In addition, the macaron created by Chef Adam was served at the wedding of Louis XIV and Marie-Therese in 1660. Macarons did not have a filling until the early 20th century. Pierre Desfontaines, the grandson of Louis Ernest Laduree decided to fill the macarons with a "chocolate panache" and stick them together. Macaron cookies have been nationally praised in France and they are still the best-selling cookies in pastry retail stores.
History of Gelato
Gelato is an authentic Italian delicacy. Sorbetto was first created in Sicily. The word sorbetto comes from the Arabic word scherbet, which means sweet snow, and it comes from the Turkish word chorbet, which means to sip. It was made with sugar, mainly citrus fruit juices, and snow. The history of gelato, made with both fruits and different creams and flavors, dates back to the 16th century. No one is completely sure where and who created the first gelato. It is said that Bernardo Buontalenti, a native of Florence, pleased the court of Caterina Dei Medici with his invention. A Sicilian named Francesco Procopio Dei Coltelli was a very influential person in the history of gelato. He was the first person who sold gelato to the public. He actually introduced gelato to Europe. He went to Paris in 1686 and opened a café named “Café Procope”. It became very famous. Gelato making eventually become a tradition between father and son. They continued to improve and perfect their gelato right up to the 20th century. Other gelato makers came to Italy as well. Gelato is different than ice cream. One of the main differences between gelato and ice cream is that there is less air in gelato. This causes the flavor to be much more intense compared to ice cream. Gelato is a healthier product as well. It has to be made fresh daily. It also contains all-natural ingredients, 70% less fats, and fewer calories than American ice cream.
Rinaldini’s Pastry Shop
Definitley stop by Rinaldini’s Pastry Shop while you are in Florence! You can get macarons for 1.70 euros each, or have them placed inside gift boxes. A gift box of four macarons is ten euros, for example. The smallest cup/cone size for gelato is 2.50 euros. Their prices are very reasonable compared to other pastry/gelato shops. Some gelato shops charge as much as eight euros for a small cup! This location of the shop is also easy to find. It is located at Via dei Banchi 9. It is a side street near other shops and restaurants that you can visit while you are in the area. If you have a hard time finding it, look out for Banki Ramen and Amore Mio Pizza. Rinaldini’s shop should be right next to those two restaurants.
Reviews of the Rinaldini Pastry Shop
The Rinaldini Pastry Shop has good reviews in its locations all over the world. A tourist named Emma Kate said, “I loved the gelato and macarons here! I put my macarons inside of my gelato and it tasted great”. Another customer of Rinaldini’s said, “the macarons here are really good. If you wait a few hours to eat them, they taste even better than eating them right away”. A customer named Marco said, “I come here regularly for gelato and buy boxes of their macarons as well”. Macarons can sometimes be hard to find, so people get excited that they can buy them at the same place that they buy gelato.
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