[phoebe]

Last night we went to a local up-scale restaurant where the gelato of the day was mascarpone. When I hesitated and looked a little unsure, the waiter--bless his heart--volunteered that he didn't care for it himself. Then he put a scoop in a bowl for our table to taste. Somehow a mouth full of very grainy, sweetened, cold butter just doesn't do it for me. I guess it wasn't as bad as garlic ice cream (another unfortunate experience), but it's right up there. I know that gelato is Italian and mascarpone is Italian, but I don't think I'd like tomato gelato either.

[kuan]

Heh.. Overconfident chef?

[Suzanne]

Sounds more like incompetent gelato maker. It's easy to get it grainy if you overprocess it. I know -- I did it more than a few times when I was doing pastry. Leave it in the machine too long and yes, it starts to turn into butter. Very unpleasant mouthfeel.

FWIW, one of the ice cream flavors I had to make was sour cream, which while has a lower fat content, is not that far off. And it was fabulous.

If you think of tomato as the fruit it is, you might be more inclined to tomato gelato. I've made tomato sorbet, which needs the best possible in-season tomatoes (plus, I admit, a little goose with best-quality tomato paste).

How would you feel about an olive-oil gelato? This is a real product, served at Otto, one of Mario Batali's restaurants.

[phoebe]

Originally Posted by Suzanne

Sounds more like incompetent gelato maker. It's easy to get it grainy if you overprocess it. I know -- I did it more than a few times when I was doing pastry. Leave it in the machine too long and yes, it starts to turn into butter. Very unpleasant mouthfeel.

FWIW, one of the ice cream flavors I had to make was sour cream, which while has a lower fat content, is not that far off. And it was fabulous.

If you think of tomato as the fruit it is, you might be more inclined to tomato gelato. I've made tomato sorbet, which needs the best possible in-season tomatoes (plus, I admit, a little goose with best-quality tomato paste).

How would you feel about an olive-oil gelato? This is a real product, served at Otto, one of Mario Batali's restaurants.

Actually, the grainy-ness didn't really bother me (though it did the others at our table). It was the taste. I love mascarpone in savory dishes, but as a gelato was akin to what I imagine biting into a stick of butter would be like
And since I've never liked tomato aspic or tomato sorbet, even the best tomatoes would turn me off as gelato.

As for olive oil gelato, . But thanks for the mental image this early in the morning.

[RPMcMurphy]

Marscapone works for a lot of things for me....but it either "works" or it "doesn't" taste-wise.

For instance, EVERY time I see marscapone cheesecake on a menu, I drool, but it's always a big disappointment.