618870 Sun May 10 22:48:51 -0700 2009 17 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 4672239 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! Sun May 10 22:48:51 -0700 2009 35524 rightstar 1 4672307 Sure, Bovolo in Healdsburg. http://www.chow.com/places/3042 Sun May 10 23:58:57 -0700 2009 4672239 10039 Melanie Wong 2 4673294 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. Mon May 11 09:35:14 -0700 2009 4672307 10039 Melanie Wong 1 4672340 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 Mon May 11 00:44:11 -0700 2009 4672239 10264 rworange 1 4672531 What's Pregel America? Mon May 11 05:32:53 -0700 2009 4672239 18452 boris_qd 2 4672704 http://www.pregelamerica.com/en/products/category.asp?id=4 Mon May 11 06:38:10 -0700 2009 4672531 11277 Paul H 1 4672688 Almare in Berkeley. Mon May 11 06:33:26 -0700 2009 4672239 11369 Robert Lauriston 1 4673328 The most hardcore from-scratch ice cream places don't make gelato per se, but some of them have a similar texture. Mon May 11 09:42:59 -0700 2009 4672239 11369 Robert Lauriston 2 4673691 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. Mon May 11 11:16:18 -0700 2009 4673328 10264 rworange 3 4674020 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. Mon May 11 12:52:07 -0700 2009 4673691 11369 Robert Lauriston 4 4676580 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. Tue May 12 09:00:00 -0700 2009 4674020 10264 rworange 2 4674162 Great. The only "places" links on this threads are places that don't actually make gelato. Mon May 11 13:31:30 -0700 2009 4673328 10159 Ruth Lafler 2 4674570 Doesn't Bi-Rite use base mix from Straus? Sketch's texture and lower butterfat is quite close to gelato. Mon May 11 15:31:14 -0700 2009 4673328 10039 Melanie Wong 3 4674753 Yes they do. Mon May 11 16:26:43 -0700 2009 4674570 17723 lexdevil 1 4673453 CiCi in Mill Valley: http://www.gelateriacici.com Obsessively from scratch with seasonal fruits. The best I've had in these parts. Mon May 11 10:15:42 -0700 2009 4672239 12140 gumbolox 1 4673781 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. Mon May 11 11:40:31 -0700 2009 4672239 181070 dcortara 2 4674579 That would be Del Secco's. I haven't tried it either. What do you know about the ingredients? http://www.gelatoandsweets.com/ Mon May 11 15:35:10 -0700 2009 4673781 10039 Melanie Wong 1 4674229 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). Mon May 11 13:48:39 -0700 2009 4672239 11369 Robert Lauriston