Gelato at Amorino's on Canal Street, New Orleans

After a long wonderful Saturday at Jazz Fest and a ride back from the fair grounds on an old-fashioned street car to Canal Street, New Orleans, I thought I would stop and try some gelato at Amorino's before catching my street car home.

Canal Street was really busy in that early evening, and as soon as I walked into this wonderful gelato shop, the place began to fill.  No wonder.  Even though the line was growing, the person scooping my gelato did so with artistry and care.  My gelato became a zen experience.
                                                                 

They also have sorbetti (sorbet), but I didn't see the "pear" flavor I was hoping to find. So without pear to fill my curiosity, chocolate was what my taste buds cried for, so I had their Dulce de Leche and a second scoop of what I think was chocolate chip.

Amorino's also makes flower-shaped gelato and sorbet creations, which looked great for celebrations.  But I went for something simple, as this was just a quick stop to refresh.                                                                                                                             
My sweet zen dessert had a taste and texture that was divine.  Awesome and incomparable gelato.  The care put into scooping this cup of sweetness gave me room to pause. This is my little gelato pictured below in the window looking onto Canal Street.

by Roberta Whitman Hoff

Ice Cream at Kilwins

While in New Orleans the last week of April and the first week of May, I did set out to try some ice cream and gelato.  Ice cream and gelato is a nice way to take a break from the heat and walking and have some quiet time in between feeding your ears with some of the best music in the world.

My stop was Kilwins at 600 Decatur Street before going on that evening's ghost tour.  Kilwins, ice cream and candy shop, is located in the of Jax Brewery building.  (I learned the Jax Brewery is not longer existent.)  I stopped here in the evening and there were no crowds and the building was air conditioned, which was a nice break for this New Englander from the 80 degree tropical weather.  I found that even though I had all the choices in the world in flavors of ice cream, I gravitated toward chocolate.  And I had delicious, creamy, excellent ice cream cone, which tasted like the best chocolate ice cream cone in the world.  Maybe they all are.  With ice cream:  A toast to Dessert-Rebellion.

By Roberta Whitman Hoff

Taffy -- Roman Candy, New Orleans

I follow the news via internet on New Orleans.  New Orleans is my favorite place to visit.  I live in New England.  And I learned about Roman Candy a while ago before I started writing my dessert blog, and the Italian immigrant story of Roman Candy resonated with me so much, because at the time I was assisting an Italian retired professional in the writing of her memoir for her family.  I find that helping someone write a memoir allows me, the writer, to go back in time with that person in their history, and I learned the struggles of an immigrant in America at the turn of the 20th century.  What I also find similar in the stories of both Roman Candy and my memoir client is that through hard work and perseverance, they overcame prejudice and thrived through generations. 

And I have a sweet tooth and a love of nostalgia.  While at JazzFest50, a great JazzFest by the way, I got to try all three flavors of Roman Candy taffy, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla.  To contrast this, I also purchased small wrapped taffies at The Fresh Market on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans.  And this is what I found:

The smaller wrapped taffy from the The Fresh Market, equally delicious, had a more modern, gourmet taste and a softer texture.  I popped the candy in my mouth and chewed and Enjoyed!

Roman Candy, long sticks of taffy, brought me back to the taste bud memory of childhood summers and Halloween.  Roman Candy had a simpler taste of bygone years.  Chocolate was chocolate, vanilla was rich old-fashioned vanilla.  I also found myself pulling the taffy apart and twisting it, as I enjoyed this delightful nostalgic sweet.

And that brings me to some history of taffy that I learned.  In the 19th century when taffy came into popularity, folks would have taffy pulls at parties, and this was considered entertainment.

As you may know, taffy is made with sugar (or corn syrup), and it's boiled with butter or vegetable oil.  Heat as well as pulling the taffy mixture are part of the creating process.  Stretching or pulling aerates the taffy recipe and creates the final product.  And it can still be pulled at stretched as you're enjoying it out of the wrapper.

Also note, when I bought my Roman Candy, I brought some home with me.  I still had a piece a week later, and it could still be made soft by stretching the stick.  But I also put the stick in hot water and let it sit a few seconds, and it revitalized into that evening's dessert, and once again, my taste buds brought me back to nostalgic summers.

I don't have taffy every day.  Just vacations and now JazzFest New Orleans.  You can also find Roman Candy at the New Orleans Audobon Zoo, if you're there.  I highly recommend some Roman Candy fun.

See https://romancandy.com/ for their website to learn more.


Grazi.


Sources:
https://www.warrellcorp.com/blog/fun-taffy-facts-origins-pull-taffy. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taffy_(candy)


By Roberta Whitman HOff

Coolhaus Icecream

I first learned about Coolhaus ice cream when Natasha Case was interviewed by Cathy Heller on the Don't Keep Your Day Job podcast.  This delicious ice cream had it's humble beginnings when Natasha was an architectural graduate student.  She was a graduate architectural student who began making her projects out of food.

"After experimenting with different kinds of desserts, it quickly became clear that ice cream sandwiches were a perfect (and not to mention, delicious) medium to further explore this relationship."1

As I remember the story from the podcast, Natasha met co-founder Freya Estreller, and they created these products in their apartment and purchased the shell of an old mail truck, painted it, and went to a food show to sell their stellar homemade ice cream sandwiches.  It was an outdoor show, and Natasha had camped in another food seller's booth for the night to sleep, and about 7 a.m. the food show attendees were at the "ice cream truck" looking for more of Natasha's ice cream sandwiches to purchase.  So Coolhaus became popular from its humble beginnings.  Natasha also wanted a quality product and wanted to be paid well for her quality product.  She began selling her ice cream to stores like Whole Foods.

While in New Orleans last week, I found Coolhaus ice cream at The Fresh Market on St. Charles Avenue.  I purchase a Vanilla Bean flavor, and I can say it is the best ice cream sandwich I have ever eaten.  It wasn't just the ice cream which was excellent.  The good old-fashioned organic ice cream was cased in the best cookie sandwich.  The cookie had a perfect taste and perfect texture that crumbled in my mouth while the ice cream melted in my mouth.  At this Fresh Market I only paid $2.97 for this excellent product.

1 Check out www.coolhaus.com, What's up with the Architectural Connection?

Written by Roberta Whitman Hoff 

Learning About Pralines, A Little History

The praline is a confection.  There are Belgian pralines, which have a different texture and combination of flavors and are covered in chocolate, but I'm going to focus on the praline of New Orleans.  A basic New Orleans recipe includes light brown sugar, granulated sugar, light cream, pecans and butter.

It is no surprise the praline in the early centuries found its way from France to New Orleans.  (Remember the Louisiana Purchase 1803.  Also, New Orleans was founded in 1718 and is named after the French Duke of Orleans.) The praline is said to have been created in France in the early 1600s by a cook named Marshal du Plessis-Praslin.  Originally, the praline was made with almonds which were available in France.  When French settlers brought their praline recipes to New Orleans, pecan trees were plentiful, and so pecans were substituted for almonds. Both are nutritious nuts. Does this balance out the sugar?  My body says, yes.  And sugar cane also grew in abundance along the Mississippi River near New Orleans.

Throughout the history of New Orleans women sold pralines along the streets in the Old French Quarter.  "Even before the Civil War and Emancipation, pralines were an early entrepreneurial vehicle for free women of color in New Orleans."1   Two of the oldest praline stores in the French Quarter date back to the beginning of the 20th century.  One is Laura's Candies on Chartres Street opened in 1913 and the other is Evans Creole Candy Factory on Decatur Street opened in the year 1900.

The praline has been and continues to be an important candy, confection, and in my opinion, the New Orleans praline is so classic.


By Roberta Whitman Hoff


1 Article, New Orleans Pralines, Sweet Southern Confections by Ian McNulty at https//www.frenchquarter.com/new-orleans-pralines/

Other sources:  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praline
https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/multicultural/cultures/french/

A Little Bit About Ice Cream & Gelato

I've been researching my current subjects Ice Cream and Gelato (yes, with capital letters) a bit on the internet.  I was surprised to learn on The History of Ice Cream at the International Dairy Foods Association website that Ice Cream dates back to the 2nd century B.C. and also that Alexander the Great enjoyed a frozen dessert flavored with "honey and nectar."

Gelato, as is sorbet, frozen custard, frozen yogurt, are all considered varieties and styles of Ice Cream.

Gelato was invented by Bernardo Buontalenti in Florence, Italy!!!! Of course!!!!
And Bernardo lived during the Renaissance period.   Bernardo B. created this first Gelato for royalty.  That's no surprise.  This royal person was the Grand Duke Cosimo I de'Medici, and the new dessert was presented at an "opulent banquet to celebrate the Spanish deputation,"1 deputation meaning government.

At the end of the 17th century, Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli (Sicilian fisherman and cafe owner) is credited with the modern Gelato we enjoy today.

Both Ice Cream and Gelato are made of milk and cream but the proportions are different and, therefore, create a different texture and product.  Ice Cream generally includes eggs.

In about the year 1777, Ice Cream came available in the United States.  There is a record that tells President George Washington spent $200 on Ice Cream in the summer of 1790.  President Thomas Jefferson was rumoured to have an 18-step recipe for Baked Alaska.  (Wow.  Baked Alaska was one of my favorite in home-economics class, decades ago.)  A Wow goes to Thomas Jefferson, president and dessert lover.

No surprise that until about the year 1800 (according to the IDFA International Dairy Foods Association) Ice Cream was a rare and exotic dessert enjoyed mostly only by the wealthy.  So having Ice Cream in these past times might have been like going to a 5-star resort today.   In 1800, ice houses were invented.  So my reading shows that when electricity and refrigeration were invented and become more popular, Ice Cream became more and more popular and available to the average person.

I hope you have a beautiful day!!! Hooray for Ice Cream & Gelato!!!


Roberta Whitman Hoff



1   https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelato

Other Sources:  www.thespruceeats.com/whats-the-difference-between-gelato-and-ice-cream-909197
                          www.idfa.org/news-views/media-kits/ice-cream/the-history-of-ice-cream

Welcome To Dessert Rebellion.

Welcome To Dessert Rebellion.



I have a sweet tooth and love dessert.   If you're here, I think you do, too.
I remember always liking chocolate, and as a child, wanting that 'spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down.'  When I was young, cough medicine was unflavored and awful, and thank goodness for Mary Poppins and her wise advise to my parents.

I want this to be a creative blog.   I want to write about and explore desserts.  But I am also interested in literature, poetry, music, and art.  These are reflections of life as is dessert.  Come see where my dessert explorations and discoveries lead me.

You can also follow my on my Facebook page,

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