Is Gelato vegetarian in Italy (Florence)?

Question

My wife and I are travelling to Florence next week, and we were wondering whether gelato, as sold at local gelaterias (sp?) who make it fresh every day, is vegetarian. I.e., do they ever use any animal products such as gelatin, like in many commercial ice-creams?

More specifically, would someone be able to recommend any wholly-vegetarian gelaterias in Florence? "Perche No" often comes up in the listings, but I couldn't see whether their normal non-vegan flavours are actually totally vegetarian.

Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks!

AndyT · Answer

ShintoPlasm,

if you want to be on the safe side, you can ask them for vegan options! Those are definitely vegetarian.

Luckily, veganism is becoming more and more known and more restaurants offer products that are suitable for vegans.

Best regards,
Andy

ShintoPlasm · Answer

Thanks AndyT. I am still trying to hear from others' personal experience with vegetarian (not just vegan) gelati. With my non-existent Italian, I'd like to get a measure of how realistic I can expect 'vegetarian' in Italy to be 100% vegetarian... :)

Plantp0wer · Answer

Hi guys, we just went to Florence and I can definitely recommend a place called www.percheno.firenze.it/ They have a separate section of vegan ice cream including chocolate, hazelnut but also a lot of fruit sorbets. Enjoy your stay!

guajirabeat · Answer

Hi, as an Italian vegan I'm pretty sure that no animal fats or gelatins are used in artisanal gelaterie in Italy, so don't worry, gelati are vegetarian. Unluckily many flavors are not vegan, as milk is commonly used and some gelati (i.e. "amaretto" or "crema inglese") contain eggs.

Just a little suggestion: be careful if you are going to eat pizza, because in several pizzerie they use a kind of lard, called "strutto", in their pizza dough. So, if you want to be sure your pizza is 100% vegetarian, you should ask if they use strutto.

Enjoy your holidays!

ShintoPlasm · Answer

Hi guajirabeat, thanks so much for the info - that's very helpful!

AndyT · Answer

Hi Guajirabeat, I am shocked to hear about the "Strutto". Thanks for sharing that piece of information!

ShintoPlasm · Answer

AndyT - unfortunately, Italians seem to like using strutto in lots of things such as pizzas, pastries, breads... That's why real vegetarian/vegan places are such a rarity!

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