0 4B - Thursday, September 22, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com A TASTE OF ITAY Digging into gelato's creation and past How local joints continue the delicious tradition By EMILY BOUDREAU Daily Arts Writer There's a scene in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Fac- tory" when Willy Wonka walks into the Inventing Room in his fac- tory. Walking into the backroom at Zingerman's Creamery is kind of like that, with coiled hoses, metal machines that gurgle and hiss and large freezers that exude steam and frost. But it's a small, unas- suming, box-shaped machine in a corner that is the source of con- fectionery delight at the creamery - gelato. As an Italian dessert, gelato has a long history, dating back to the days of the Roman Empire when it was a luxury item for the wealthy. In those days, the well-to-do Ital- ians would send their slaves upthe mountains to get ice for the frozen treat. But now, the process moves quickly and is much easier thanks to modern technology. According to Josh Miner, a gelato maker at Zingerman's Creamery, there are two main steps in creating gelato. The first is to make the base by mixing milk, cream and sugar together, heating the batch up and then freezing itas fast as possible. The most impor- tant and most demanding step is making sure the mix has the cor- rect percentages of fat, sugar and air - the proportion of fat in the base helps differentiate it from ice cream. "The way the base mix is done will have alarge effectontasteand texture," Miner said. Once the base isset, Miner said, the remaining bit is easy. The mix is poured into the batch freezer (that small machine in the corner), flavoring is added and the result- ing gelato is churned and frozen slowly. "There are only four buttons on the machine. (At this point) it's really hard to screw up," Miner said. Still, a lot of work goes into the process, and it can't be done care- lessly. It's the opposite - making gelato requires a certain skill set. "You have to approach gelato with some curiosity ... if it's not creative, it's not worth doing, Miner said. Additionally, painstaking mea- surements are necessary to create even the most basic flavors. The base mix changes in relation to each flavor's fat and sugar content - strawberry has a lot of sugar and no fat, but hazelnut is all fat and no sugar. "You need to make the right adjustments in order to keep the texture and the flavor right," Miner said. Balancingthe taste to create the ideal flavor is another challenging part of the process. For example, Zingerman's gelato maker Josh Miner isp Zingerman's vanilla gelato is not to your tongue is a large part of simply a traditional vanilla - it's enjoying gelato. Iorio's Gelateria, Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla. located on East William Street, is According to Miner, that flavor dedicated to promoting that idea. was not selected randomly, but "When you walk into the store, rather through a long process of you're supposed to think Italy," trial and error. Some vanillas were said Engineering junior Nick Lem- too floral, others too dark, but mer, one of the owners of Iorio's. Bourbon Vanilla had just the right "(Gelato) is a way for (Italians) to amount of earthiness in it. celebrate their culture, like the Miner credits the Zingerman's fresh fruits that they grow and work environment with the suc- really all the flavors ofthatregion." cess of its flavors. Because gelato is so dense - "We talk and bring (our experi- much more so than ice cream - ences) together," he said. "If some- the flavor is incredibly powerful. thing sounds interesting, we'll try It's traditionally served in smaller it. But a lot of what we do is per- cups and with tiny spoons, a con- fecting a flavor. ... There's usually cept that may seem a little out of an end goal in mind." place in the land of super-sized Miner is particularly proud of portions. However, a heaping his Burnt Sugar, a caramel-colored serving of gelato is not necessarily gelato with bits of burnt sugar the bestwayto go. folded in. He was inspired by atrip "You really want to pay atten- to Spain where he tried some gela- tion to what you're eating," to. The taste stuck with him. Lemmer said. "We definitely rec- "I had no idea what that flavor ommend that you try flavors first was, but the closest I got to captur- before you decide on one. ... You ing that memory was by burning have to be able to feel the flavor." sugar," Miner said. He added that when sampling Translating an experience coconut almond fudge, each ele- ment of the flavor - the coconuts, E 0 particularly proud of his Burnt Sugar flavor. almonds and chocolate - should be obvious. "You don't have to be an expert, you're not swilling wine around or cleansing the palate, but having the right mindset and concentrat- ing is important," Lemmer said. Without really thinking about what you're putting into your mouth, it would be easy to over- look the delicacies in gelato, like the fizz in Champagne Rose or the difference between a light milk chocolate and a sinfully rich Bel- gian chocolate. The subtle varia- tions in flavor make tasting more interesting. "Our flavors are changing con- stantly," Lemmer said. "You can really make anything with gelato. Ice cream is much more limited in that way - you have your choco- lates, your vanillas and you can really only do so much with it.... (With gelato) you have to be will- ing to try different things and understand that it's special." Furthermore, the flavor of gela- to varies with each batch since it is produced on a much smaller scale. Some flavors can never he renli- cated. Yogobliss on South University Avenue also carries gelato, pur- chased from Palazzolo's, a gelato company in Fennville, Mich. that makes over 600 flavors. Though the flavors Yogobliss carries are more traditional, the makers certainly understand versatility. Taste is relative and not everyone is daring enough to taste a salmon or garlic flavored dessert. "Lots of people haven't actually tried gelato unless they're from a huge city," said Catharine Rob- inson, an LSA sophomore and a manager of Yogobliss. Since gelato is fairly new to the area, Yogobliss wants to introduce people to it slowly. "I was a new student here last year and for me, Ann Arbor is all about new experiences and gelato is kind of one of them," Robinson said. of course, there are endless culinary possibilities with the des- sert. "It's all about what you can dream up," Lemmer said. "The freezer is vour canvas." Gelato is served in a small cup with a tiny spoon because the taste is so rich, i Full Scale Gym, Yoga Studio, Sauna & Steam Rooms, Theater, Game Room 2 Hot Tubs, BBQ Grills, Study Lounges, Group Meeting Spaces and morel lorios Gelateria opened recently on East William Street. Fully Furnished Luxury Apartments With In-unit Washer & Dryers Located 3 Minutes from the Diag @ S. University & S. Forest_ MOD From Page 3B i shibumi was a dominant feature in the look and feel of the early '60s. The bichromatic or trichro- matic paintings of Mark Rothko - one of which adorns the wall 4 of Bert Cooper's office in "Mad Men" - and the steel-and-glass skyscrapers of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe capture the unas- suming appeal of the shibumi aesthetic. In fact, Mies van der Rohe was famous for embracing the mantra "less is more" in his approach to architecture. This philosophy has been absorbed into the fashions of today and explains the resurg- ing popularity of trim suits, slim-fitting cocktail dresses and well-groomed hairstyles. Even the demand for IKEA's stream- lined minimalist furniture has something to do with the shibu- mi renaissance. Getz/Gilberto, then, is the 4 perfect musical expression of this style. The album is the antithesis of the loud and crazy rock of The Beatles, with a thousand screaming girls run- ning after them. The synthesis of American jazz and Brazil- ian bossa nova created softer, quieter and more stylish music - something you could sip a cocktail to.