Gelateria that Makes Everything From Scratch

[rightstar]

Does anyone know of a gelateria that doesn't use Pregel America as their base? Or does no such thing exist here in the bay area? I'd sure like to taste the difference!

[Melanie Wong]

Sure, Bovolo in Healdsburg. http://www.chow.com/places/3042

[Melanie Wong]

If you ask to look at the ingredient list for Bovolo's gelato, it will say something like Clover milk, sugar, Dry Creek peaches. Doesn't have "natural flavors" from Italy, such as Pregel America's.

[rworange]

Lush in Oakland
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/618843

I believe Gelato Firenze, also in Oakland, makes their gelato from scratch
http://www.chow.com/places/7165

[boris_qd]

What's Pregel America?

[Paul H]

http://www.pregelamerica.com/en/produ...

[Robert Lauriston]

Almare in Berkeley.

[Robert Lauriston]

The most hardcore from-scratch ice cream places don't make gelato per se, but some of them have a similar texture.

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Ici Ice Cream
2948 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

Bi-Rite Creamery
3692 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Sketch Ice Cream
1809 4th St, Berkeley, CA 94710

Tara's Organic Ice Cream
3173 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream
2790 Harrison St, San Francisco, CA 94110

[rworange]

Ice cream and gelato are different. I don't think any in that list are even close to gelato. The only place that I think matches gelato in texture is Citizen Cake which for years I belived was gelato and almost still refuse to believe it is ice cream.

Still, because of the OP request, I didn't mention it because it is ice cream.

[Robert Lauriston]

Most of them are denser (have lower overrun) than most American ice cream.

Gelato in Italy varies a lot. Typically it's much lower in butterfat than American ice cream and contains no cream, but not always. Textures vary from whipped cream / mousse to the dense, sticky stuff people expect here.

[rworange]

Yes, but the OP is looking to compare a gelato with that base to one without. Even narrowing it down to the category of local gelato, I'm not sure how much validity there would be to the comparison.

It is about technique and ingrediants.

Using ice cream as an example, Bi-Rite, Three Twins, Lala's and Fairfax Scoop (and probably most top of the line ice creams) use that Strauss base mix yet they are all different. Petaluma farms is using Spring Hills Jersey cream while Clover uses their own cream. So, there is also that to figure in, what dairy is the gelato using. A differet dairy at various gelato shops might produce different results ... along with technique and other ingrediants.

[Ruth Lafler]

Great. The only "places" links on this threads are places that don't actually make gelato.

[Melanie Wong]

Doesn't Bi-Rite use base mix from Straus? Sketch's texture and lower butterfat is quite close to gelato.

[lexdevil]

Yes they do.

[gumbolox]

CiCi in Mill Valley: http://www.gelateriacici.com
Obsessively from scratch with seasonal fruits. The best I've had in these parts.

[dcortara]

I just heard about a place in Rohnert Park, you can see it when you're getting off the RP Expressway exit going south on 101. I'm not sure even what it's called, but I've heard some good things about it from a couple of friends.

[Melanie Wong]

That would be Del Secco's. I haven't tried it either. What do you know about the ingredients?

http://www.gelatoandsweets.com/

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Del SecCo's Gelato 'N Sweets
6285 Commerce Blvd, Rohnert Park, CA

[Robert Lauriston]

It's not a gelateria, but Jane Tseng makes gelato from scratch for A16 and SPQR.

I believe Delfina, Dopo, and Pizzaiolo make their own as well. As does, oddly, O Chame (caramel balsamic gelato).