Gelateria Carabè Firenze

Continuing on our quest for the best gelato on our trip to Italy, we stopped by Gelateria Carabè Firenze nearby our apartment.  This was recommended by a friend who stated that it was a lighter gelato that was less creamy yet at the same time, more refreshing.  They specialize in Sicilian-style gelato that employs some form of starch as a thickener. For myself, I personally prefer it to be more creamy and less sweet, but I have an open mind and had to see for myself.  

I decided to get a cup with a refreshing combination of Limone Sorbetto and some wine gelato that I forgot to note down (maybe Cassis?).  Whatever the case, the gelato was indeed lighter and less creamy.  I wouldn't call it icy, but there was a definite difference in the texture compared to the ones I had in Rome.  I found it sweeter with milder flavours.  I could see some people enjoying this in the heat, but for me I'm all about the creaminess.

Viv went all fruity going with the Mango and Peach Sorbetto.  These were smooth and almost fluffy.  The light texture of the sorbetto meant it was very quickly devoured and helped us beat the warm 37 degrees Celsius it was in Florence.  Mind you, the real way to beat the heat is to eat something hot to induce sweating, but we weren't going to do that.  In terms of flavour, they really came through.  I'm not sure if this was necessarily sweeter than another sorbetto we've had, but it was less tangy, so maybe that is why we felt it was sweeter?

My son is all about consistency and he once again had both the Chocolate and Straciatella Gelato.  Just by looking at it, you can tell the straciatella was less creamy and looked much lighter.  These indeed ate as such with an almost icy consistency without being so.  Flavours were on the sweeter side and the impact of the chocolate was lessened due to the texture.  

My daughter did her fruity options as well with the Strawberry and Passionfruit Sorbettos.  Maybe due to the use of different ingredients, these felt less fluffy, but then again, they weren't dense either.  Flavours were good and the sweetness was a little bit more muted possibly due to the added tanginess of the strawberry and passionfruit.  She gobbled it up pretty fast we agreed the sorbetto was more to our liking than the gelato.  Of course everything is subjective and again, I can see how some people would like this lighter version of gelato.  After all, the place has many accolades.  But for me personally, I like the one I had at Frigidarium in Rome the most.  Yes, I know, different city and different region.

The Good:

- Natural-tasting

- Light and refereshing

The Bad:

- Not as creamy

Perché No!

Most popular versions of the story say that the birthplace of Gelato is in Florence by Bernardo Buontalenti.  For those unfamiliar, gelato is not ice cream because it is made with milk.  Hence it has less fat, but in turn it has more sugar.  So don't suddenly think it is a health food.  It also has less air in it as it is churned more slowly than ice cream.  So the first thing after lunch in Florence was to hit up Perché No! and get us some gelato!

For myself, I didn't do any sorbetto this time around, not because I didn't want any, but the person preparing my cup didn't hear me asking for Mora (which is blackberry).  Rather, my whole cup was only Pistachio Gelato.  Not necessarily a bad thing as the flavour was quite good with the aromatic nuttiness of pistachio coming through.  I found this gelato to be a bit less creamy though and sweeter.

Viv went for some Matcha and Coffee thinking it was breakfast time?  You can have gelato for breakfast right?  Anyways, as you can see, this was melting real fast since Florence was a toasty 37 degrees Celsius.  Furthermore, gelato is supposed to melt fast due to the lack of any stabilizers added.  With that being said, this was very soft and not as creamy as Frigidarium in Rome.  Flavours were nice though as the matcha came through without being too bitter and the coffee was rather aromatic.

For my son, he didn't stray from his favourites in the Strachiatella and Chocolate.  Once again, the flavours were really impactful as the sweetness of the strachiatella was appealing.  We could taste the natural sweetness and flavour of the milk further enhanced by the sugar.  Of course the chocolate shavings were welcomed.  The chocolate was also sweet and due to that, it was less bitter and not at dark as he would've liked.

Lastly, my daughter had the Limone and Strawberry Sorbettos.  She is more into that rather than gelato due to the heat.  It is more refreshing and for her, she needs that as she hates the heat.  Should've went to Greenland instead right?  She found her sorbetto to be light and smooth.  Both flavours were sweet with the limone being less tangy than others we've had.  Overall, the gelato at Perché No! was good, but we still like Frigidarium more (yes I know it is in a totally different region and city in Italy..).

The Good:

- Lighter if that is your preference

- Flavours were apparent

The Bad:

- Sweeter than others we've had