A Love Letter to My Gelato

I've been building this post for a few weeks now as I make my way through every gusto (flavor) of gelato I can. I made a pact with my friend to get a different kind every time and it's maybe the greatest promise I've ever made.

Number 1

Nocciola (hazelnut), mandorla (almond), and baba al rum (not sure what this is but tasted like rum flavored gelato with little chunks of rum soaked pastry in it).

My first love. From the famous Gelateria Natale on the Piazza d'Oronzo. I will definitely be going back while we're here, and it's going to be so hard not to get the same flavors! only €2 for a medium cup of 3 flavors, which really isn't bad considered the massive amount (at least by Italian standards) that they give you!

Number 2

Stracciatella (vanilla with chocolate shavings), croccantino au rum (rum with nuts in it), and pasticciotto (my two favorite things together)

Number 3

The best I've ever had. So good I went back for more an hour later (see below). Bacio biancho (white chocolate hazelnut), paradiso (pina colada cake), melone (cantaloupe)

From Martinucci. The greatest gelateria in Salento and the best I've tasted. Also weirdly the most difficult name to remember- I asked Sabrina what it was at least 12 times the first day and then we both kept forgetting it thoughout the next week. It's like the River Lethe in Hades. I wrote it on my hand and I think it would be really funny to get a tattoo of it. Martinucci.

Number 4

Amalfi (lemon cake) and nutella (you should know what that is) and my first cone!

This was a rough one. So embarrassing to go back to the same gelateria an hour later- I just tried not to make eye contact. They were pretty cool about it but there as definitely some snickering. Worth it.

Number 5

Amarena (black cherry), pistachio, and gianduia (hazelnut dark chocolate candy) with panna (whipped cream).

This was a giant one that a bunch of my friends bought together for mine and Ari's Serious Eats article. It was humongous and we all devoured it in about 30 seconds (after a solid 4 minutes of photographing it).

Number 6

Cannoli siciliano (cannoli with bits of dried fruit), panna cotta (kind of caramel-y pudding), caffè (coffee).

Got this one at Dentoni in Torre dell'Orso- supposedly one of the best gelaterias in Salento but in my opinion nowhere near Martin... crap what was that place called again?

Number 7

Cocco (coconut), fondente (dark chocolate)

From a gelateria in Otranto. Tasted like a Mounds bar. I needed 4 people to help me finish this tiny cup.