Gelato florentino: De Catalina de Medici

Famous Florentine Catherine de Medici is said to have “invented” gelato, and the people of Florence have been in love with it ever since. Whatever its origins, the history of gelato is tightly linked to Florence and its traditional heritage, and the art of making it has only grown with time, with many artisan “gelaterias” spread all over town, in hidden corners and quaint small streets. Explore the ancient town with us, discover the secrets that lie behind the production of ice cream and taste the most mouth-watering ones in town led by an expert local gelato-loving guide. Enjoy a real insider’s view, learn about the ingredients, how they are combined, the actual production and much more. At the end of the tour you’ll be allowed exclusive access behind the scenes to watch the staff mixing ingredients and the machines churning fresh cream and sugar into mounds of creamy lusciousness. With priceless tips from the gelato maker you can try your hand at it yourself creating the tastiest gelato ever! Gelato – Italian for Ice Cream – is almost a religion. You can even get to try making it yourself! Then go behind the scenes to learn how the legendary gelato is produced.

The real boom of ice cream as a dessert occurred around the year 1500 in Florence at the court of the Medici. In fact, ice cream as we know it today was quite similar to what was served at the wedding feast of Catherine de Medici, queen of France and a distant cousin of Cosimo I, patron of the world-famous Uffizi Gallery. A greek poet who resided in Athens around 500 BC relates how the Greeks liked to prepare refreshing drinks made with lemon, honey, pomegranate juice, and of course, snow or ice. Even Alexander the Great, during his conquests in India, demanded a continuous supply of snow to be consumed with honey, and that designated holes be dug in the ground for the purpose of preserving the snow. The first to come up with a kind of ice cream like today’s version were the Romans: a recipe by Plinio il Vecchio shows how to mix crushed ice with honey and fruit juices. According to some scholars, ice cream originated in the East, in China, about 3,000 years before Christ. During the Middle Ages, the recipe was perfected by the Arabs and in Sicily, famous today for its sorbets and ices. Ice cream and Catherine de’ Medici The real triumph of cold dessert occurred in the sixteenth century, after the discovery of America and the arrival on the continent of new varieties of fruits, spices, tea, coffee, cocoa. At the Medici court in Florence drinks similar to sorbets were served to guests. Two Florentines changed the course of history and the recipe for ice cream. The first was Ruggeri, a Florentine seller of chickens, who once participated in a competition called “the most unusual dish you ever seen,” organized by the Medici, and won with his “frozen dessert.” From that day on Ruggeri became famous throughout the region. It is said that when Catherine de’ Medici married Henri d’Orleans, the future King of France, she wanted Ruggeri to move with her to Paris to show French chefs that Italians were better at cooking. It so happened that while many of the nobles wanted him in their palace, he was hated by the other cooks. Ruggeri could not bear this stress and decided to return to his first job at the chicken coop. Before leaving, however, he left to Catherine de Medici his recipe for ice cream. Bernardo Buontalenti, the inventor of ice cream in Florence Around the same time, Bernardo Buontalenti, an architect, sculptor, painter, and designer, worked at the grand-ducal court in Florence. One day, Buontalenti was tasked with organizing celebrations in welcome of Spanish guests of the Grand Duke. He staged theatrical performances and fireworks, but most importantly prepared a cream flavored with bergamot, lemons, and oranges, and chilled with a mixture of his own invention. Historical records indicate that it was Bernardo Buontalenti who came up with the invention for keeping snow. They were underground rooms filled with cork and wood to collect water. In fact, thanks to milk and eggs, the taste of sweet cold suddenly became velvety, and ice cream was spread around the world in a thousand and one variations. The contribution of Buontalenti forever revolutionized the course of ice cream. In honor of Bernardo Buontalenti an original ice cream flavor was invented and even named after him.

During the long winter nights, in the stables of San Gimignano, people were telling that the young Caterina de’ Medici, future wife of Henry II, King of France, brought with her a certain number of parfumers, spicers, cooks, tailors and also Ruggeri, an ex chicken vendor. Ruggeri became very famous, left his chicken shop and was employed by the Medici’s Family. The wedding between a middle-class girl and the future king of France was a revenge for the common people too. Ruggeri wanted to stay in his country but was forced to leave his kitchen and was put on a boat together with all the rest of the court of Caterina. When the 14-year-old girl took her place in Paris, she ordered Ruggeri to do a good show of his cooking fantasy so as to astonish (and also humiliate) the people dining at her table. By mixing all the techniques he had so far mastered, he created extremely elaborate ice-creams, both in shape and colour, that left everyone speechless. Ruggeri was courted by the most influent crowns of Europe; his ice-cream became something fashionable and because of this, Caterina didn’t want to lose her favourite cook, not even when offered exorbitant amounts of money for him. But the more the approval and admiration of the court, the more hate and envy grew among his collegues in the kitchens until it went from words to facts: at the beginning, cooks, helpers abandoned him, then they organised an ambush and one evening he was almost beaten to death. Ruggeri had enough of this and wrote a letter to Caterina: “Her Majesty, with or without your permission, I will go back to my chickens, hoping that people will leave me in peace, forgetting that I exist. This is the end of the story as it was told in the farmyards and in the stables during the cold winter days.

Folks worldwide flock to this Renaissance city with more motives than one, but its oh-so famous, lip-smacking gelato is reason alone to visit. Unbeknownst to many, the tasty treat is said to boast Florentine roots in the city’s court, linking your modern-day indulgence with Florence’s glorious history. Records of frozen desserts akin to today’s gelato date to ancient times; indeed, the word sorbet finds its origins in the Arabic word scherbet, meaning “sweet snow.” Legend has it that alchemist Cosimo Ruggieri created the first-ever gelato (fior di latte) at the court of Catherine de’ Medici as part of a courtly cooking contest. Others credit the mannerist Medici architect Bernardo Buontalenti for the invention of gelato alla crema, the popular egg-cream flavor whose recipe, crema Buontalenti, has been circulating since 1565. Although gelato is quite literally the Italian word for ice cream, the two frozen desserts have proven themselves more cousins than twins. Compared to American-style ice cream, gelato uses similar ingredients but in different quantities. In the Italian treat you’ll find more milk than cream and thus lower quantities of fat. Gelato is also churned at a much slower speed than ice cream, introducing less air into the base and creating a dense, flavor-packed consistency. Moreover, while many American ice creams are sweetened artificially, the natural sugar used in gelato creates smaller ice crystals, adding to its smooth and creamy texture. Around Florence, gelato options are plenty, so be wary of sky-high piles of brightly colored gelato: not everyone follows traditional recipes.

Eating ice cream is one of the most popular activities ever. But who invented ice cream, this tasty delicacy. We don't know for sure: the ice cream story is really messy. Many claim to have invented it, just as various nations and provinces take credit for it. The first time in Europe that we had anything like ice cream was around 1300, when explorer Marco Polo returned to Italy from China. Later, Catherine de' Medici brought the dessert to France when she married King Henry II in 1533: here Tuscany enters the field, and Florence. This Ruggeri, a pollster and cook in Florentine time, showed up at a competition called by the Court of Doctors, with the theme "the most singular dish ever seen". Ruggeri decided to take part in it by preparing an "ice cream treat": he conquered everyone. During the wedding banquet, Ruggeri introduced the French to his famous ice cream, stunning everyone: all that fame, however, made him the object of hostility; for this reason the good Ruggeri wrote his secret recipe, gave it to Catherine, and returned to his activity of poultry. But the real ice cream in Florence was always conceived in 500, by Bernardo Buontalenti architect, sculptor and painter, pupil of Vasari.