Talenti gelato has been calling our name. Packaged in a clear, sexy, cool container, these pints of gelato have been showing up all over town lately in our local grocer's freezer section, as well in magazines such as New York's Approval Matrix, and blogs including Martha and Oprah. We almost felt obligated to give in and indulge in the hype...so we did. Sadly, that’s where our love story ends.
What is gelato? Gelato is "similar" to ice cream, only richer, creamier, silkier, more akin to custard in taste and texture. We opted to purchase a benchmark flavor (Talenti has some amazing sounding varieties), Belgian Milk Chocolate, in order to compare this to others we had previously tasted in gelato stores. Full disclosure, we have never purchased store-bought gelato at anyplace other than our local gelateria where we ooh and ahhh through every stracciatella bite.
Our review. We divvied up amongst 3 people the whole pint. Excited with anticipation, we slowly dug in, letting the creamy, rich chocolate flavor linger and melt lovingly in our mouths. Wait. Was this supposed to be indulgent and decadent, or better yet, good? What we tasted was a cloyingly sweet, faintly chocolate-flavored gummy frozen dessert that left us to think, “Why did we even waste our calories?” Our overall assessment was such that Talenti wasn’t horrible, it just fell deeply short of our expectations, and we were surprisingly disappointed- given the prolific, amazing press it has gotten as of late. Bottom line: We would not shell out the $5.99 for it again.
What’s it made of? The ingredients were simple: milk, sugar, eggs, chocolate, dextrose, cocoa, carob gum, soy lecithin and vanilla (a little too much here for our chocolatey taste buds). For each pint, they say it serves 4. We felt that was way too skimpy, and would serve more like 2-3 people. The calories per serving were 220 (80 from fat) with 9g fat, 45 mg sodium, 30g. carbohydrates and 29g. sugar.
Any claims? Talenti Belgian Milk Chocolate gelato has a bunch of excellent claims: OU-D kosher, hormone-free dairy, BPA free containers (we do love those containers), all natural, gluten free, Vegetarian and green earth friendly.
Why 2 stars? One star for packaging, the other for ingredient/health claims.
For other helpful Long Island resources, please visit:
- Long Island Grocery Stores, including specialty shops and those that deliver
- Where to purchase farm raised poultry on Long Island
- Grocery 101: Holiday Essentials
- Where to purchase Prime Dry Age Meats on Long Island
- Where and how to purchase a lobster (and other seafood) on Long Island
- Grocery 101: Basic Staples Lists
- Long Island Farmer's Markets: Locations and Dates
- Long Island Farm Stands
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