Zingerman's Chocolate 2: Dark Chocolate Gelato at Zingerman's Creamery

It's a cold and rainy fall weekend in Pittsburgh, but some friends of mine countered the impending gloom last night by cranking up the ice cream maker and inviting people over. The folks at Zingerman's in Ann Arbor, Michigan, do exactly the same thing every day.

In the second of several installments from the Midwestern foodie giant, Zingerman's Chocolate Lady Duff returns to recommend "in addition great fresh cream cheese and goat cheese, Zingerman’s Creamery's (est. 2001) unbelievable Sicilian-style gelato":

My favorite is the Dark Chocolate. It is super dense and not too sweet, like perfectly chilled chocolate mousse.

Gelato is ice cream’s distant Italian cousin - variations in the ingredients, process and serving style of gelato give it a unique texture and flavor. At Zingerman’s Creamery, we use milk from a local dairy – Calder Dairy – to make each batch of gelato. With great milk as the first ingredient in the Dark Chocolate Gelato, we’re already off to a good start! Then we add a hefty dose of natural, unsweetened cocoa powder from Scharffen Berger, a little sugar, give it a spin in our single-batch gelato machine and voila! The best chocolate gelato this side of The Pond.

Zingerman’s Creamery and Zingerman’s Deli stock the Dark Chocolate Gelato year-round, so you can stop by and try a spoonful anytime. But here is the real news. During the month of February – and February only - the Creamery makes a bunch of extra special chocolate gelati. Chocolate Balsamic Strawberry, Turtle, Rocky Ride, Chocolate Heat... I look forward to February all year just for the arrival of these flavors. And for me to say that I look forward to the fourth of six long months of winter in Michigan should give you an indication of how great these chocolate gelati really are! Maybe you want to strategically plan a mid-winter visit to Ann Arbor?