Il Gelato Workshop with Claudio Torcè

Il Gelato Workshop

Me, Danielle, Mac and Abby

Italiano: Gelato

English: Italian Ice Cream

This past Tuesday, three of my lovely apartment mates: Danielle, Mac, Abby and I, signed up for a Gelato making workshop with the master artisan himself: Claudio Torce. Torcè  is the leading gelato-maker in Rome. He is one of the handful of gelato-makers who makes all of his product from all natural ingredients-that means no artificial coloring, no dextrose or added chemicals. This event was organized by my boss, art historian and food critic, writer, enthusiast: Katie Parla of Parla Food. 

The event was organized specifically for study abroad students. As one of Katie's interns this quarter, it was my job to send out emails to all of the other study abroad schools in Rome, with a press release describing the event. I immediately told my apartment mates about it. The four of us snagged the last four spots (out of 10)! This event filled up so quickly, which was fantastic. Obviously, no person (college student) can resist Gelato. 

Danielle and Claudio Separating Eggs; Mac and I stirring; Danielle and I
 Katie and Claudio Smelling the Liquore; Katie and I

I was unbelievably excited for this event. As many of my readers know, I have worked in a local artisianal gelato-shop in my hometown for the past three years. The knowledge I gained from working at Noci Gelateria could probably make up an entire novel if I were to write it all down. Thanks to my former bosses, Michael and Liana (and now great friends!), I learned so much about running a small business, customer service, cleanliness, amongst many other things, but most importantly about food culture, and the importance of always serving customers the freshest product made from local, and seasonal ingredients. 

I can easily say, working at Noci definitely sparked my interest in food culture, and choosing quality over anything else. Now, I can't help but research restaurants, or ask waiters and waitresses where my food came from, as well as where the ingredients were sourced. Here in Italy, it's all about buying things "locally" (the Lazio region, if you're wondering what local is here in Rome!). Unfortunately, Rome is on the decline when it comes to quality, especially Gelato. Most gelaterias advertise their gelato with hideous plastic cones on the outside of their buildings, have horrid techno-color displays of mountains of artificial ice cream, which unfortunately tourists can't decipher as being good or bad. 

However, there are individuals like Claudio Torcè , who have taught the likes of other natural gelato makers , which makes it still pleasant for a person like me, who is (sometimes a tad too) obsessed with what I'm eating, and very picky about gelato (if you work in an artisanal shop for three years, my standards are pretty high), to buy a cup or cone and enjoy some. Also, there are great food bloggers and critics, like Katie, who make up a guide to gelato, and have an iPhone app for us non-locals, making it easier to find the good stuff. 

 Gelato Prepping

This workshop was fantastic. Torcè spent time discussing where his ingredients were from, and it made it nice and simple for us students to understand the gelato-making process. We made two flavors: Classic Crema and Pistachio. 

Everyone had the opportunity to participate in the workshop and help prep the flavors. Torcè showed us how to make gelato "in the home," rather than using his large machines that he uses to make larger quantities for his shop. Even though I've been around gelato-equipment for a while, I guess I never pictured downsizing the process to being possible in my own kitchen. 

The process was very straightforward. To make the Crema, we measured out our liquids on a scale (always by weight!), separated our egg whites into the mixture, pealed some zest from an orange and lemon, and opened up a vanilla bean and threw the entire piece into the liquid. I was in charge of stirring the mixture on the stove, for about five minutes. I tried asking Torce in Italian how many minutes it would take for the mixture to thicken. Unfortunately, I did not know the word for "stir," and my question came out like, "Quanti minuti....uh, stir?" He understood what I said (with the help of Katie), and said it's all about how the product feels. Least to say, he told me when to stop. Before placing the liquid into the machine I fished out the zest and the bean (scraping the vanilla beans into the mixture first), poured it into the gelato-making machine, and left it in there for about thirty minutes. 

The most unbelievable Pistachio Gelato in the world.

After the Crema, we made the most delicious pistacchio gelato I have ever eaten. Torcè actually sources his pistachios from California, because he claims the quality is better and more reliable. 

However, when I asked where in California they are from, he couldn't tell me exactly (had to chuckle at this response).

Prior to making the Crema, we toasted the pistachios in the oven. After toasting, Mac had the job of grinding up the pistachios (view photograph above with her silly facial expression). Students took turns mashing the pistachios with a few other ingredients in a mortar (go Abby!), before we infused the pistachio paste with our dairy products with a hand-held food processer. Once the mixture was done, we poured it into the machine and let it sit and stir for thirty minutes. 

Like the large machines we used at Noci Gelateria, this smaller machine too, is churned at a slower place, to enable less air to be pumped into the product. Technically, regular ice cream has more air and more fat content than gelato. On average gelato only has 5-7% fat content, and less air, therefore the flavor is denser, and overall tastes better!

Both of the flavors were absolutely exceptional. The Crema with hints of citrus and fresh vanilla was incredibly smooth and classic. We all agreed the Pistachio was by far the best gelato we have ever had, even Torce himself claimed it to be a great batch. Essentially, it had the texture of a nut-butter. It's amazing how infused the pistachio flavor was in this product. We all went back for seconds, and wish we could have made about five extra batches so we could all take some home with us!

 Mac, Me, Katie Parla, Danielle and Abby

I thank Katie for organizing such a wonderful event. I'm way too honored to have such an awesome internship. Not only does she seemingly have ever possible (amazing) food connection here in Roma (and many other countries and cities), but she's such a great person. She's down to Earth, and extremely easy to talk to. I love learning from her, and simply chatting. Also, she instagramed a photo of me from the event, which if you haven't heard, "if you don't instragram it, it mean it didn't happen." Basically, she's awesome on all levels, and I will say this for probably for the 100th time, but any person coming to Rome, or is curious about other places she's written about, definitely check out Parla Food!

The Artisan: Claudio Torce and Us!

Also, a huge thank you to Claudio Torcè . He let us taste so many flavors from his shop upstairs (this space we worked in was on the bottom floor!), and ask tons of questions about the gelato-making process. He's such a humble man, and truly cares about the quality of his product. 

I snagged this quote from an interview, Katie conducted with Claudio a year and half ago, and I think this quote embodies his philosophy:

"Food should be made with one’s hands. Consumers should learn to seek out quality. I hope that people start informing themselves about quality before buying." -Claudio Torcè