A mixed cup of gelati.

TORRE ALFNA, Italy — I had a cup of gelati this morning before breakfast. We were walking through the town, where the combination bar-pizzeria-gelateria is open before most folks get up and after the rest go to bed, and the call coming from inside was too strong to resist.

So, several euros later, I was armed with a mixture of torrone, a type of honeyed nougat with nuts, and a pistacho, which has become the flavor to try everywhere we go. Why? Because each version that is handmade, and most of them are, will feature roasted pistachios, which gives a browner color and a flavor so rich that you’d never mistake it for what we have back home.

The day's flavors of gelati.

There are so many differences between the gelati here and the gelati back home that it’s almost a misnomer to use the same name for both. The texture in Italy is much creamier and denser, more like ice cream, and it lacks that slickness the American version has. There are seems to be a lot less sugar, which makes it more palatable as it lets the true nature of each flavor shine through.

In the pistachio, for example, you’ll taste differences everywhere you go, often because each gelato maker roasts the nuts for different lengths of time, and that is readily apparent. All have some touch of green to them, but I haven’t seen any that resemble the artificial green that the pudding mixes have told us “pistachio” is supposed to look like.

The flavors are what really makes the difference. They reflect the Italian taste and the country’s culinary traditions. You’ll find numerous frozen variations, such as zuppa inglese, gianduja (chocolate with hazelnut), stracciatella (chocolate and vanilla), amarena (sweet cream with marinated cherries) and chocolate mixed with a candied orange peel.

Fresh fruit in the market.

They also reflect what is in the marketplace. On Thursday, we took a cooking class with Lorenzo Polegri, who runs classes  at this Zeppelin restaurant in Orvieto. We started the day by going to the farmers market where a great many fruits were in season, including cherries that glistened in the sun, apricots dripping with juices, the first strawberries of the season and even some loquats that seemed to dwarf the versions we grow in Texas.

In the end, Lorenzo picked out some of the last blood oranges to arrive from Sicily this season and decided that would be our foundation. Once  back in the kitchen, my friend Steve and I volunteered for the dessert squad, which meant we had to cut the peeling and pith from all of the oranges, some of which were so dark that they were a blackish purple.

We then threw them in a food processor and pulverized them down into juice, which was strained so that all of the fiber was removed. Then we stirred in the sugar, the milk and the heavy cream in a ratio of 4 parts juice to 2 parts sugar and one part each of the milk and cream. (This variation of gelato was not custard-based and had no eggs in it.) A little rum went into the gelato maker before the orange juice mixture did, and we let the machine work its magic.

Blood orange gelato with a drizzle of raspberry syrup.

During one of the test tastes that we took during the process, it was decided that the acid level was a little low, probably because the oranges were so sweet. So, we added a splash of lemon extract and another of orange extract, which increased the brightness considerably.

It took more than an hour for the gelato to solidify, most likely because of the alcohol involved. But when we had the end result after our meal, it certainly left a smile on our faces.

Well, it’s a little after lunch now, and it’s our last full day here. I think it’s time for a return trip to the gelateria.

San Antonio has plenty of parlors with premium ice creams for every taste. Here are a few worth investigating. Those with sugar-free or no-sugar-added options are marked with an asterisk (*):

• Amy’s Ice Cream in the Quarry, 255 E. Basse Road, (210) 832-8886 (*)
• Anne’s Old-Fashioned Ice Cream, Ingram Mall, 6301 N.W. Loop 410, (210) 684-9663
• Baskin-Robbins, various locations (*)
• Ben & Jerry’s, 111 W. Crockett St., (210) 220-3770; Fiesta Texas, 17000 I-10 W., (210) 697-5050
• Brindles Awesome Ice Creams, 11255 Huebner Road, (210) 641-5222 (*)
• Cold Stone Creamery, various locations (*)
• Da Vinci Gelato & Cafe, 18270 Stone Oak Parkway, (210) 545-6686 (*)
• Justin’s Ice Cream, 510 River Walk
• Haagen-Dazs, 207 Lasoya St.,  (210) 226-2006; Menger Hotel, Alamo Plaza, Suite 214, (210) 226-2266; North Star Mall, 7400 San Pedro Ave.,  (210) 341-2006
• Marble Slab Creamery, various locations (*)
• Mr. Ice Cream, 423 E. Commerce St., (210) 224-5749 (*)
• Paciugo Gelato, 999 E. Basse Road, (210) 832-8820; 22706 U.S. 281 N., (210) 590-5440

If your favorite place is missing, please post it below.

When I was a kid, a trip to Baskin-Robbins was a big treat because I got to choose some sort of exotic ice cream that went beyond the generic choc-van-straw we would get at home.

My two favorites were always Jamoca Almond Fudge and the unnaturally colored Pistachio Almond, largely because they both had nuts, which were a luxury item all those years ago. They are still luxurious in ice cream, as are buttered pecan, which polls have shown to be almost as popular as No. 1 vanilla and No. 2 chocolate.

Nuts offer more than flavor to ice cream. If that’s all you wanted, you could just add almond extract and be don’t with it, right? Nuts offer texture, something crunchy and rough to complement the smoothness of the cream.

Another plus is that nut don’t freeze the way that fruit chunks do.

They remain an appealing addition to ice cream, but a few modifications are called for. No green food coloring in the pistachio is a big plus. And no chemically flavored chocolate syrup gumming up the chocolate almond is another.

If you’re really nuts for nuts, like I am, you can take the finished ice cream and roll it in more crushed almonds, pecans or pistachios.

Here are three nutty recipes that are easy to make and worth the wait until the ice cream has ripened.

Play around with all three and tailor them to your taste.

Add some shredded coconut to the chocolate almond. If you use toasted almonds, add a light touch of cinnamon. Add a little extra cocoa powder to give the ice cream a dark chocolate flavor; or subtract a little if you want a milk chocolate flavor.

Add caramel syrup at the end of the pecan mixture to give it a praline-type flavor. Adding cajeta is another winning combination. Or top the finished product with toasted coconut.

If you like the combination of pistachio-almond, add some almond extract to the cream mixture or some almonds to the pistachio paste. This recipe below is for a gelato, not an ice cream. If the occasionally greasy or slick texture of some gelati isn’t to your liking, blend the egg-cream base of the Chocolate Almond recipe with the pistachio paste.

Chocolate Almond Ice Cream

4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup  sugar
2 cups heavy cream or half-and-half
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup cocoa powder sifted
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup toasted almonds

Beat eggs, and add sugar, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Scald the cream and milk. Slowly add 1 cup of the dairy mixture to the eggs mixture to temper the eggs.

Add the egg mixture back to the remaining milk mixture. Stir in cocoa, heat just to steaming. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and almond extract.

Chill for 4 hours.

Pour into freezer container. Add toasted almonds. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to freeze the ice cream.

Adapted from thatsmyhome.com.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

2 cups pecans (1/2 pound), finely chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toast pecans in a shallow baking pan in middle of oven until fragrant and a shade darker, 7 to 8 minutes. Add butter and salt to hot pecans and toss until butter is melted, then cool pecans completely (they will absorb butter).

Whisk together brown sugar and cornstarch, then add eggs, whisking until combined. Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, then add to egg mixture in a stream, whisking constantly, and transfer custard to saucepan.

Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 to 175 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 2 to 3 minutes (do not let boil).

Immediately pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in vanilla, then cool, stirring occasionally. Chill custard, its surface covered with wax paper, until cold, at least 3 hours.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker until almost firm. Stir together ice cream and pecans in a bowl, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

From epicurious.com.

Pistachio Gelato

The following recipe comes from David Lebovitz, a celebrated pastry chef and author of “The Perfect Scoop.” Unlike many ice cream recipes, this one does not use eggs. And there’s a reason for that, he says: “The main advantage is that not using eggs means the flavor’s focused squarely on the pistachio with nothing to distract from those perfect scoops of it. Except your spoon.”

2 cups whole milk, divided use
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
7 ounces Bronte pistachio paste (see note)
A few drops of lemon or orange juice

Make a slurry by mixing the 1/4 cup of the milk with the cornstarch, mixing until the starch is dissolved and the mixture is smooth.

Heat the rest of the milk in a medium-sized saucepan with the sugar.

When it almost starts to boil, stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook at gentle simmer for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, scrape into a bowl, and chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.

Once chilled, whisk in the pistachio paste and just a few drops of citrus juice until smooth.

Freeze the gelato in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Note: When buying pistachio paste, look for one that’s at least 40 percent pistachios. And if ordering online, don’t confuse it with a liquore called Crema di Pistacchio di Bronte, which is a drink. Pistachio paste is not available at Central Market, Whole Foods or Williams Sonoma locally, so if you want to make your own, see the recipe below.

Makes about 3 cups.

From David Lebovitz

Pistachio Paste

This is the pistachio version of almond paste. If you want your paste to not be green, soak the pistachios overnight, and then remove the skins with a tea towel. If you leave the skins on, you end up with a product whose color can best be termed “unfortunate.” On the other hand, if you are using pistachio paste in a recipe and want the end product to be green, you might want to leave the skins on.

1/3 cup pistachios
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons water

Grind the pistachios in a food processor for 1-2 minutes, until it’s a near fine powder. Add the sugar and incorporate into the nuts.

This step is critical. Add water to mixture in the processor, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the paste has the consistency of marzipan. You want to err on the side of too little water rather than too much. The paste should not look liquidy, and should be easily held and shaped when in your hand.

From www.accidentalhedonist.com.

You’re no kid, but admit it — ice cream still does it for you. And vanilla bean, chocolate fudge, cajeta and caramel (just to name a few) might be just what you need to get through the rest of this relentless summer.

SavorSA will extend a helping hand this week with lots of cool features: ice cream and gelato recipes, plus tips on making ice cream if you are diabetic or lactose intolerant, 10 great (easy) ice cream-based desserts, a comparison tasting of new premium ice creams and more.  Also, we want you to share your favorite ice creams, styles, recipes or brands with other SavorSA readers.

Get your scoops ready.