Django Gelato

There’s usually a queue, but it’s worth the wait. Konstantinos Karakatsanis’ ice cream is in great demand. Fresh and completely natural, without preservatives, ready-made powders or flavor enhancers, using raw ingredients sourced from small producers, it’s made to be consumed (or should we say devoured) on the same day. Immediately upon tasting it, everything about it showed the “purist” philosophy of its creator, who started in Syros and then came to Koukaki.

 

 

 

 

 

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Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Django Gelato Athens (@djangogelato_ath)

The yogurt, which has a pure taste and is as sour as sweet, as it should be, together with the very expressive sorbet melon (from organic farmer Dimitra Tsakiri), refreshes you with every spoonful. The salted pistacchio, with Aegina nuts (he gets this from Vassilis Aivazoglou) fills the mouth with amazing contrasts. Some of the newest flavors to try are the Persian Cream, kaimaki with fig and Aegina pistacchios.

The sorbets here are a whole chapter to themselves. Peach and apricot have just been added to the display, which also includes chocolate with chilli. With that sweet and sour taste of the fruit at the beginning of its season and minimal salt – Constantine wants the first spoonful to bring to mind the peach and apricot you wash in the sea to eat after a swim.  

Marabou

Before Vicky Peristanoglou, who trained in Rome, and Igor Tsomlektsoglou, opened their ice cream shop on the corner of Archelaou and Ellaniko streets, the word “marabou” made me think of flocks of the tropical birds in Kavvadia’s poetry. Now I also think of black beer ice cream, tahini ice cream and other things that have been chalked from time to time on the blackboard above its window by its owners.

On my recent visit I stood in line for the peach ice cream, but was too late. Their small-batch ice creams change every day, depending on their mood and experimentation. Your choices are based on what you’ll find each time you visit. In the end, I chose the refreshing organic raspberry sorbet, which was very good, and the rich-tasting fresh milk flavor, which is one of their few regular flavors. I was won over by the bitter almond sorbet – creamy, with all the flavor of the nut.

 

 

 

 

 

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Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Le Greche (@le_greche)

Le Greche

Evi Papadopoulou studied gelato-making in Italy and from the day she opened her small gelateria in Mitropoleos, which then expanded to Neo Psychiko and Agia Paraskevi, Athenians and tourists alike come and go, almost non-stop, holding cups of zabaglione gelato (cream with egg yolks and Marsala wine), tiramisu, fior di latte and so on.

I swear by their fluffy, dense, velvety pistacchio and gianduja, but there are more recent arrivals that deserve your attention, such as the fior di mela with Greek yogurt, fresh milk, apple and cinnamon biscuits, or the chocolate with bergamot zest. A new addition to sorbets, agrumi, which translates to “citrus,” and combines lemon, orange, and grapefruit, tart and fragrant, is just the ticket on a hot day.

 

 

 

 

 

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Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από @tyrakeion

Tyrakeion

At Tyrakeion, “from farm to table” is the philosophy that honours natural ingredients and tastes. Two young men who grew up in Tzia and continue to divide their time between the island and the capital, work with raw material-gold. Their parents rear their own animals on Kea and the Mykoniati brothers take the fragrant milk to create their own products – one uses it to make cheese and the other makes ice cream that tastes like something out of another era.

Apart from the milk, the majority of the other ingredients they use have a Greek identity and island origins. Prickly pear, pomegranate, arbarroiza and yoghurt with thyme honey are some of our favourites. The rice pudding ice cream has its own fan-base while, whenever we find it, we never fail to fill a cup with the cool lemon ice cream, made with juice from their own lemon trees.

 

 

 

 

 

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Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Bon Bon fait maison (@bonbonfaitmaisongr)

Bon Bon Fait Maison

One summer while walking along the fig tree-lined alleys of Kythera, Kriton Poulis decided to try making ice cream from their leaves. It was an instant hit and since then he returns every year at the beginning of June.

Apart from this ice cream with its delicate aroma, notes of pink grapefruit, orange and cinnamon, which is very special and really worth trying, in his summer “collection” you will also find cardamom, which is roasted to enhance its aromas before being made into ice cream. The latter pairs beautifully with the also new iced coffee (a WiseCup Guatemala). It’s like drinking an iced version of Lebanese coffee.

At Bon Bon Fait Maison in Athens and Piraeus, you’ll also find macaroon ice cream, refreshing pomegranate sorbet made with pomegranates from Zakynthos and mochi – the creator of the boutique pastry shop, at the time worked with Pierre Hermé and spent time working in Kyoto. The Japanese dessert with its rice flour coating and varied fillings (bean paste, matzo tea, fruit, ice cream) comes in four different flavors: soft peanut ice cream, rich fior di latte, strawberry sorbet, and chocolate.

 

 

 

 

 

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Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Epik Gelato (@epikgelato)

Epic Gelato

Here I always vote for the Domokos katiki with pieces of sweet sycalaki from the Teskou family in Ikaria. It is very tasty and beautifully balanced. There are others, made with fresh cow’s milk from the Monastery of Timios Stavros in Corinth, with ingredients from all over Greece: almond ice cream with caramelized almonds from Thessaly, loukoumi-rose ice cream with Syrian Turkish delight and rose water for those who love intense aromas, which is very creamy with slightly salted peanut.

In the gelato of the day listings you’ll find several extras, ice cream and sorbets. A few days ago when I stopped by, I chose the yogurt ice cream, which had a nice flavour and acidity that was paired with crunchy pastel and a quite sweet peach jam. In the back of the fridge you’ll also find Chicago, with chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, almond, sour cherry syrup and whipped cream, just in case you want to make a retro libation – small is not the word.

 

 

 

 

 

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Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Oggi Athens (@oggiathens)

Oggi

It’s already been two years since a Greek family with a love for Italian flavors blessed Athenians with Oggi ice cream without colourings and preservatives, by Italian desserts maestro Carmelo Chiaramida.

I haven’t tried the new cheesecake ice cream with handmade strawberry jam, mascarpone and biscuit yet, but I’ve put it on my agenda. It was introduced at the same time as the pistacchio ice cream made with pistacchios from Sicily, the velvety tiramisu with savoy cakes dipped in espresso syrup and cocoa, the delicious, beautifully balanced Pulcinela, with ricotta, chocolate drizzle with crushed pistacchios, and biscuit and orange. And their sorbets, with seasonal fruit, are great too.

Now at the gelateria on Voulis Street you can expect peach, pineapple, melon and strawberry with vodka and mint, and a little later in the summer, fig, grape and watermelon too. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη La Mole Pasticceria Gelateria (@_la_mole_)

La Mole

In the north, the Italian Marco Muré makes authentic gelato that is worth the drive to Pefki. You will taste tiramisu ice cream with sponge cake swiftly dipped in espresso and rum, but also several other flavors with an Italian flair. Muré is constantly experimenting so that we don’t get bored and consequently can’t choose.

This season he made one of his favorite restaurant desserts, the Piedmontese bunet, ice cream. This translates to a chocolate amaretto and coffee base enriched with bits of crunchy amaretti cookies.

We like the summer lightness of Sicilia, with ricotta and orange and peanut ribbons, while Mon Cherry combines the bitterness of amaretto with the sweetness of chocolate and the tartness of cherry. Note that all of the fruit flavors are made with fresh fruit that he buys and freezes himself.

This article was previously published in Greek at gastronomos.gr.