Talenti gelato e sorbetto

I love Italian food. All of it. I'm not just talking pasta and pizza (although those are divine as well), I'm talking everything from bruschetta to insalata caprese to foccacia to osso bucco to prosciutto to plain old olives, I love the bold flavors and down-to-earth style of Italian dishes. And don't even get me started on dessert: panettone, tiramisu, and best of all, gelato. Don't ever confuse gelato with ice cream: gelato is lower in fat, creamier, softer and denser than ice cream. In my opinion, the flavors in gelato also come out stronger than the same flavors in ice cream, so you need to eat less of it to savor the full taste.

I've always thought that you need to go to a gelateria in order to enjoy great-tasting gelato. It's usually served at a lower temperature than ice cream, so I thought a regular home freezer would ruin the wonderful consistency and fresh taste of gelato . That was before I discovered Talenti gelato e sorbetto. Talenti sent me two coupons to try their products, but there were so many wonderful-sounding flavors -- Argentine Dulce De Leche, Double Dark Chocolate, Tahitian Vanilla Bean, Toasted Almond, White Chocolate Raspberry, Sea Salt Caramel, Sonoma Strawberry and Hill Country Peach Champagne, just to name a few -- that I just could not decide.

I finally picked Double Dark Chocolate and Tahitian Vanilla (best to judge the basic flavors first), but who could blame me for wanting a third flavor? I couldn't resist the description for Sea Salt Caramel -- "A succulent rich golden Argentine caramel base brought to life with Fleur De Sel sea salt "the caviar of salt"; we then add chocolate covered sea salt caramel truffles to complete this masterpiece". I purchased a pint of Sea Salt Caramel and immediately went home with my mouth watering.

Talenti is really a masterpiece. Everything about it screams Gourmet, from the simple but elegant plastic tub, the screw-on cap, and the luscious swirl of gelato inside. The taste is amazing. Yes, it does get rock-solid in the freezer, but all you have to do is microwave it for 15-20 seconds (less if the container is no longer completely full) to get that wonderfully soft, creamy gelato texture.

The flavors we tried were absolutely amazing. I can't say enough about how delicious they were! The Tahitian vanilla bean was the best vanilla frozen dessert (ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt, soft serve ice cream) I've ever tasted, and I think the rest of my family agrees with me. The Double Dark Chocolate is a chocolate-lover's dream, and the Sea Salt Caramel is a wonderfully sophisticated flavor, with the over-the-top sweetness of the caramel balanced nicely by the chocolate and sea salt in the truffles.

Talenti gelato tastes and feels like such a decadent indulgence, it's hard to believe that it's lower in calories, fat, saturated fat and sugar than the same-size serving of ice cream. Believe me -- I checked two premium ice cream brands for Vanilla Bean, and it's true! We will definitely be trying more flavors of Talenti, both the gelato and sorbetto, and I'm pretty sure we'll be licking the containers clean.

Disclosure:I received coupons for 2 free pints of Talenti gelato, and I purchased a third pint out of my own pocket (including numerous future pints). The views and opinions expressed here are my own.