A whole lotto gelato

Like most Americans, I prefer things big.

If I am paying the better part of five dollars for a scoop of ice cream it better be half the size of my head and make me sick if I eat the whole thing. Which I will.

I just want more bang for my buck.

So you can imagine my disappointment the first time I had gelato. I ordered a medium, thinking it to be plenty, and received a petri-sized dish with a small dollop of the Italian ice cream, and given a mere toothpick-like tool to eat it with.

Upset and confused, I left the store in disgust to eat my baby-sized portion alone.

However, I found myself pleasantly surprised and somewhat elated after I took my first bite of the frozen treat. It’s rich, dense texture packed more flavor into each bite than any regular ice cream. I found myself perfectly satisfied with the portion size. And the added bonus: no post-Coldstone stomachache.

Apparently Italians have more to offer than hairy backs and spaghetti sauce (click for a good recipe).

Gelato, according to Ti-Amo, a gelato producer, is made by super cooling the ingredients (using milk instead of cream) while constantly stirring them, producing the dense texture with less than 35 percent air – compared with traditional ice cream’s 90 percent.

This process packs in the taste without the fat (but probably twice the sugar).

It’s also stored at lower temperatures, keeping it softer and more flavorful. But eat fast, because it melts quicker, too.

But don’t book a plane ticket to Europe quite yet. There are plenty of places right here in Fort Collins that offer fine Italian ice cream without the language barrier. My favorites include: La Dolce Vita, Gelazzi and especially Déjà Vu Coffeehouse (no Web site), whose new owners added a gelato counter this summer.

So, in short, when it comes to ice cream, go big or go Italian.