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Kimberly Zanni can't dish it out fast enough.
At a recent Stauffers of Kissel Hill store promotion, the local gelato maker was faced with crushing, never-ending lines queued up to sample her cool Italian dessert. The Lititz woman has become a sweet sensation, initially peddling her wares by bicycle cart, then stocking local supermarket shelves and now opening her own café featuring her homemade Gelato Di Babbo line. Gelato Di Babbo ranges at SKH from $4.99, on sale, to $5.99 for a pint.
Meanwhile, in Kinzers, generations of the Stoltzfoos family spend their days on Spring Wood Farm milking cows, gathering eggs and churning out gallons of fresh gelato to stock Pitango's upscale gelaterias in Baltimore and D.C.
Gelato has never been hotter, its intense flavor both decadent and refreshing.
"Ice cream's out," Zanni declared. "Gelato tastes better, is healthier and just has more of everything but the fat."
Indeed, with a butterfat content of four to eight percent, compared to 25 percent in premium ice creams, gelato is a healthier dessert option. But don't think less fat makes for a watered-down taste.
"Authentic gelato has a rich buttery consistency in the mouth," said Zanni, who delights in the ubiquitous treat when she visits her husband's family in Italy. "It should be served soft, (you don't want it to freeze your taste buds), so you can truly enjoy all of the flavor."
Dense and creamy and delightfully satisfying, gelato is crafted from the simplest ingredients of milk, cream, eggs and sugar. Flavors come from seasonal fruit, premium nuts and chocolates.
Lancaster's wealth of farm-fresh ingredients makes for a natural base for this Italian tradition.
"It's not a sophisticated dessert," said Pitango founder Noah Dan, a regular visitor to the production facility on the Stoltzfoos' picturesque farm. "All the secrets are in 100-year-old Italian cookbooks."
What's key, Dan said, is to use the finest ingredients: "It's all about the quality. You can't have eggs that have been sitting for three weeks. You need to have the freshest milk."
Which is why when Dan decided to make his own gelato, inspired by the summers he spent with family in northern Italy, he spent a year scouting mid-Atlantic dairy farms in search of milk that would live up to his standards.
When he tasted milk from the Stoltzfoos' grass-fed herd, complex with its notes of clover and alfalfa, Noah was hooked and spent months convincing the family to become his supplier. The bonus came with pasture-raised, insect-devouring chickens laying eggs with oomph.
"Without having complete trust that someone would make the best milk of their own volition, I would get nowhere," he said of the local dairy that pioneered certified organic milk in the region. "I wanted to make gelato like God commands, with fresh eggs and milk."
When he decided to start the business, Dan believed those seeking the authentic would seek him out. The lines now snaking out his stores along the sidewalks agree, scooping up his artisanal flavors at the peak of freshness. Pitango scoops sell between $4.65 to $6.50. The most popular is Chocolate Noir with its deep bittersweet richness and naturally the pure vanilla, but more than 20 varieties of the 60 Dan has created so far are available each day, depending on the season.
"It was hard seeing such a simple healthy snack degrade over the years to chemicals and coloring that destroyed the whole product," he said of his aim to restore a traditional taste. "Old people still know how to make the real thing, young people are just can openers."
With 150 cows producing milk and 1,000 pasture-raised chickens laying eggs, Spring Wood Farm creates the key ingredients on-site, combining raw milk and hours-old eggs in a base that is only pasteurized once to preserve the fullness of flavor. Neighboring organic berry patches add to the seasonal flavors. More traditional hazelnuts and pistachios are imported from farms in Italy.
"The real secret ingredient is standing right in front of you," Dan said gesturing to the lush fields populated with grazing chickens and cattle.
While Pitango banks on pure, simple, mostly one-ingredient flavors, Zanni kicks up her creations by adding the unexpected, such as Chocolate Jalapeño and Creamed Corn.
Summers bring light tastes like Honey Lemon Lavender, Blackberry Merlot and Strawberry and Champagne, as well as the aptly named Sunflower with sunflower kernels in a rich, buttery base.
Zanni delights in creating custom flavors for clients, adding local hand-crafted wines and beers to her flavors.
Indeed, when she opened her Lititz café on July 17, she introduced her newest flavor, Chocolate Guinness, as well as Strawberry Cheesecake, Caramel Corn and Chocolate Hazelnut. Although the gelatos are the stars, Zanni's Italian chef husband will offer traditional pastries and paninis.
Debuting at the new Lancaster Convention Center, her Shoo Fly Pie gelato was exclusively created for the venue.
"It's a molasses base with bits of butter and brown sugar crumbles folded into it," she said.
Zanni also keeps busy catering events, developing flavors to complement each occasion. She also likes creating gelato cakes, first softening a pint, then spreading it into a springform pan. Once frozen for a few hours, she creates a middle layer of fruit purees or nuts, then adds a top layer of a complementary flavor and refreezes. Her most popular cake is a hazelnut chocolate confection, easily replicated at home.
For elegant Sunday brunches, she creates Sorbetto Mimosas using one of her sorbetto flavors. Sorbettos are fat-free and dairy-free, made with fruit, sugar and water.
"They're loaded with fruit," she said. "I put in a pound and a half to get 12 pints of gelato."
She adds a bottle of champagne to her pineapple, lemon or strawberry sorbettos to make the occasion special.
"It's a nice treat for a formal event, but I like to have it just for fun," she said.
Ready to experiment with a gelato recipe?
