The beautiful and rich flavor of ice cream, but less calories and fat per bowl? Count me in! This Italian version of ice cream is made with milk instead of cream and is much more compact. It results in the dessert not being frozen too deeply and having a much denser taste. Dang, Italians sure do know what they are doing.

Let’s start from the beginning: How is it made? Gelato is made through a process of churning and scooping the milk and the flavors, bringing it to high heat, and then cooling it so it contains much less air (which is why it is much more dense!). Northwest University’s home, Kirkland, is lucky enough to have a shop that hand creates their own gelato perfectly - Sirena Gelato! The line is consistently all the way out of the door for hours each day, it’s easy to assume that trying gelato is something to put on your bucket list.

There are also plenty of ways to enjoy this dessert. You can have it in a bowl, on a cone, as a Popsicle, in a milkshake, in a cookie sandwich and even with coffee! At any gelato shop, you can request an affogato, which is gelato with espresso poured over it. I know, sounds heavenly, right? With this many different ways to enjoy it, you’ll never run out of options! There is bound to be something you enjoy. To sweeten the pot even more, lucky for you dairy-free people out there, fruit gelatos are just as delicious and you can enjoy it knowing it won't infringe on your diet. It’s a win-win! On the nice summer days to come, I’m sure you’ll know it’s best to spend them with gelato in hand.

To get you started on your wonderful, gelato-filled days ahead, here are some incredible flavor combos that you have to try!

Pistachio & Chocolate

Pistachio & Coconut

Pistachio & anything (it’s the best, trust me)

Lemon & Strawberry

Hazelnut & Chocolate

Hazelnut & Coffee

…and so much more! The list goes on. You’re bound to find your favorite flavor in gelato.

I can vouch for it! After spending two weeks in the incredible city of Rome, I had my fair share of gelato. We went to several different shops and there were dozens of flavors to choose from - they even had weirdly awesome flavors like eggnog or Nutella. The cool thing with gelato is every flavor you see is the flavor you get. You want coconut? There’s real coconut. You want lemon? You’re gonna taste the lemon (and it’s definitely not as crazy sour as you would expect). They even have complicated names (like Stracciatella) which are hard to pronounce but so worth the attempt as long as you get to try it.

The cover photo is a picture of crema (right) & stracciatella (left) gelato coming straight out of a shop in Italy - can’t get much better! Don’t go this summer without refreshing your body with this cool and refreshing dessert.