Recipe below: Cremolata
As if this summer weren’t already strange enough, I had to come down with babesiosis, a tick-borne infection my doctor described as the American malaria. It’s been a joyless ride that I’m still fighting to get through. When I first got sick I had been on an ice cream making tear, churning out all sorts of summery fruit concoctions. I also had just perfected my recipe for cremolata, the Italian American ice milk of summer. I’d been craving it, and being unable to find it in my upstate New York hideaway, I knew I’d just have to make it myself. Anyway, these strange times call for exceptionally appealing food.
In Italy cremolata just means a sweet fruit flavored ice. In Italian American culture, specifically in the New York and New Jersey region, it means an ice milk flavored with vanilla and almonds. Which is one of the most gentle, soothing indicators of hot weather for us East Coast Italian types. It’s light on the tongue, not quite an ice, but not full-on ice cream either. Many Italian pastry shops make it. Rocco’s on Bleecker Street is where I’ve been getting it for about forty years. It appears around mid-June and goes on the retreat again at the end of August. I couldn’t locate information on its history, so I’m not sure when this particular Italian American ice milk was invented. If anyone out there knows about this, please let me know.
The version I came up with is a bit creamier than the original, but when I tried cutting back on the fat, it got too icy, so I just went with it. The flavor is right on. Use the best vanilla, good almonds, and serious milk products, and you’ll be rewarded. Even if it isn’t a flavor from your childhood, I think you’ll like it.
Cremolata
(Makes about a quart)
1½ cups heavy cream
2½ cups whole milk
A pinch of Sicilian sea salt
½ cup sugar
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 cup skin-on whole almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons high quality vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Orzata syrup
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Taste for sweetness. You might want more sugar, though I didn’t. Stick the bowl in the refrigerator to chill, for a few hours or overnight.
Next pour the mix into an ice cream machine, and process until nice and slushy. Scoop it out into a container with a lid, and freeze it until it sets up, probably an hour or two.
B
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Hi Erica,
So sorry to hear about your illness. Gosh, as if things weren’t already strange. I hope you recover quickly. Thanks for the recipe for cremolata. Hey, do you have a recommended ice cream maker?
Hi Italiandish, I’m feeling a bit better everyday, so that’s good. I use a cuisinart ice cream maker. I’ve had it for a while and I’m not sure of the model. It’s a big square stainless steel thing. It works well, but I find if I add big pieces of fruit, for instance, it sometimes gets stuck. Otherwise, it works well.
Whenever I was in Manhattan in the summer months, I always went to DeRobertis pastry for their cremolata, the absolute best. The deRobertis family sold the building so no more cremolata for me. Until I found a chain operation called Ralph’s ’ Ice Cream. Their cremolata is as good as DeRobertis’s. Find one near you and put your ice cream machine away, ENJOY!
Vincent, I find that Rocco’s on Bleecker Street isn’t bad. Not as good as DeRobertis, but pretty good. It’s the only place left in the Village that makes it, I think.
Hi! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I have fond memories of cremolata in Manhattan growing up. We lived on Houston St. and W Broadway, and I used to love going over to Bruno’s Bakery on LaGuardia Place for it. I have been thinking of that delicious treat for thirty years.
Jo Anna, Bruno’s is no longer, but Rocco’s, around the corner, still makes it, and it’s pretty good.