PrintNew York's Best Gelato Maker Weighs in on the Strawberry and Vanilla Ice Cream Controversies
Over on Serious Eats we've asked folks to help us settle controversies surrounding strawberry ice cream (whether it's wonderful or not) and vanilla ice cream (whether the vanilla bean specks are a sure sign of superior vanilla ice cream). Who better to weigh in, with her considerable cred in this area, than Otto's resident gelato and sorbetto genius, Meredith Kurtzman? Kurtzman is the gelato-maker who has given us the heavenly olive oil flavor available at Mario Batali's pizzeria and enoteca.
Ed,
I'd like to throw my hat into the strawberry ice cream ring. We're using local strawberries—no frozen bits—and it's a contender I think. The fragrance that you get from vanilla beans cannot be matched by extract. I'll stand by this until someone shows me the money. Also,this week at Otto, very creamy cantaloupe and nectarine sorbets. More summer fruit in the pipeline (if I only could afford to make raspberry).Regards,
Meredith, Otto
Otto: 1 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10003 (at 8th Street; map); 212-995-9559
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9 Comments:
I just went to Otto last night and the nectarine sorbet was so. Freakin'. Awesome.
roboppy at 1:16PM on 06/27/08
Now hold on a second - be fair to us NaySayers :-) You didn't phrase the vanilla question quite that way. It wasn't "Do real, quality vanilla beans make better vanilla ice cream?" but rather "Do little black specks mean better vanilla ice cream?"
Since you don't really *know* that the black specks really are vanilla bean seeds, the answer to the latter is clearly "no." Likewise, unless you know & trust the maker of the ice cream, you cannot be certain of the quality of the beans, so again, the flecks are not a guarantee of superior flavor.
If you ask first question however, the answer is yes -- real, quality vanilla beans will give you better ice cream.
kjgibson at 1:24PM on 06/27/08
I have a concern about abjuring frozen strawberries, at least this year. Most farmers I have spoken to told me that this is a lousy year for strawberries, and the boxes I have chucked bear this out. Fresh and local not always best; as a gardener, I know that the weather has the last word!
Barbara Hanson at 2:03PM on 06/27/08
Otto's Olive Oil gelato is deliriously wonderful. It's worth going to Otto just for that and the Sardinian Iced Tea.
VoraciousMatt at 2:15PM on 06/27/08
I'm with VoraciosMatt...the olive oil gelato is friggin' HEAVEN. We live in Jersey and frequently make trips in just for that! What I want to know as a novice ice cream maker at home, is if Meredith would consider even hinting at her recipe since I'm sure she'd never give it up completely...I'm moving to Miami soon and will only be able to dream of the olive oil gelato. If I could make something that even comes close I'd have the undying gratitude of my family!!!
vinovamp at 4:23PM on 06/27/08
I don't know if its the milk, the climate, the talent or what the reason is...
The gelato in Italy is leaps and bounds better than in the US.
I recently had a 10 euro portion of Pistachio and Hazel Nut in Florence and it was the most delicate and creamy thing I've ever tasted.
collegekid19 at 6:59AM on 06/28/08
I am dying to find a place in NY that can prove my last post wrong.
collegekid19 at 7:02AM on 06/28/08
Hey Collegekid,
Dunno about hazelnut (sigh.... my favorite) but look around the stores for coconut gelato in a blue container with pictures of Italy on it. It's awesome.
Delfina at 11:24PM on 06/29/08
Thanks for the tip Delfina!
collegekid19 at 3:00AM on 06/30/08