How to find the best gelato in Italy

If you’re a regular visitor to Italy, you’ll know the basic rules when it comes to gelato: don’t go to a gelateria right next to a major tourist site, avoid neon signs and bright artificial food colourings, and skip shops selling novelty flavours like bubblegum.

But once you’ve ruled out the main offenders, how do you know where to track down really good quality gelato?

Here’s what Gambero Rosso, the Italian equivalent of the Michelin guide or the Bible for Italian foodies, says to look out for in a gelato – and the criteria its own inspectors use to compile their annual rankings of the best gelaterias in Italy.

1. The gelato should be neither too shiny nor too matte, but a happy medium. The former indicates a too-high fat content, while the latter means the cream is too old.

2. Either deep stainless steel carapina cylinders or rectangular sorbet tubs are fine: what’s important is that the gelato stays below the ‘chill level’. Gelato piled up above the container’s brim is likely to be high in artificial vegetable fats.

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3. Ingredients lists should be on display and easy for customers to read (that’s actually a requirement under EU law). The lists shouldn’t be long, as gelato has very few base ingredients; and you shouldn’t expect to see many, if any, E-Numbers, which indicate the presence of food additives.

4. Regardless of decor, a good gelateria should first and foremost be clean and hygienic. The staff should be wearing aprons, have long hair pulled back, have clean hands, and it’s a bonus if they’re also wearing gloves.

5. The person serving you should also be able to answer questions about the contents and origins of the ingredients in the gelato. Of course, that’s in Italian – don’t expect the server to be able to reel off this information in perfect English.

Beyond this list, things start to get more precise.

Good gelato should have a full, pleasant aroma and a taste to match. It should be neither too warm (high in fats) nor too cold (low in sugar), and should have a lasting and pleasing aftertaste.

If you want to try your hand at being a gelato connoisseur, the experts recommend eating from a cup rather than a cone, and ordering just one option at a time, so you can properly assess each distinct flavour without overlap.

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If you really want to test the quality of the core product, they recommend starting with a delicate cream flavour such as vanilla or fior di latte – with such a simple base there’s nowhere to hide, and the taste and texture of the gelato itself will really come through.

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If do you get a more complex flavour with pieces of nuts, fruits, sauces and other additions scattered throughout the mix, try to start with a couple of spoons of just the gelato itself, so you’re not distracted by the add-ons.

Those who are partial to cones should factor them into their assessment of the gelateria as a whole; while the cone is separate to the gelato, its quality reflects the care that goes into all the other products. The cone should be crunchy, fresh, and not an industrially-produced dry wafer.

When tasting, press the gelato against the roof of your mouth with your tongue to feel for any ice crystals that may have formed during production or storage.

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If the ice cream melts too quickly, it’s a sign too much air was incorporated. If it feels overly creamy and slippery, that indicates the presence of refined hydrogenated fats.

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Even after you’ve conducted a thorough tasting using the above guide, don’t base your final judgement of any one gelateria on just one trip; go back and try out other flavours to see where the shop’s strengths and weaknesses are.

Some specialise in fruit sorbets; others in nut flavours or creamy combos. You need at least a couple of trips to find out where a gelateria really shines.