Siviero Maria Italian Gelato - Ice Cream Review. It's worth it !

As promised, I'm back with a new ice cream review of one of the very best ice cream brands you're going to find in the Romanian stores. It is also available in other European countries as well as the U.S.

A couple of months ago, while I was grocery shopping in one of the local supermarkets, I stumbled upon this ice cream brand. I wanted to try something new, aside from the beloved Haagen-Dasz. There were several tempting flavors sitting in that freezer, so making a decision on which one to buy wasn't going to be easy. I finally chose Pistachio, not only because it looked good and not that many brands have this flavor, but also because it reminds me of childhood. When I was a kid, this was a popular flavor around here, sold almost everywhere. However, in the recent years, I haven't seen it as often as I used to.

I got home, had some dinner and then went for the ice cream at full speed. (Yeah, trying to be patient when you have Italian Gelato in front of you doesn't really work, does it?) When I first tasted it, I couldn't believe how yummy it was! You know what instantly came to mind? Remember that t-shirt that Madonna wore in the Papa Don't Preach video? It said: "Italians do it better". Well, when it comes to Gelato, they certainly do.

When I was a teenage girl, I used to dream (like many other girls) that one day, this charming Italian man was going to come on his white horse...or in his upscale Bentley car and sweep me off my feet with good looks, great cooking (Italian cuisine...hello?) and a beautiful house in a beautiful country. And Gucci shoes. And by Gucci shoes I mean Gucci shoes AND handbags. Clothes too. And a walk-in closet of everything that Tom Ford designed for Gucci, while he was Gucci's creative director.

Never happened. Probably this ice cream is as close as I'm going to get to having an Italian lover of my own and frankly, I am not disappointed. Italian Gelato is some of the best sex I ever had :P

I admit I don't really have time to actually go out for ice cream. You know, go some place nice, sit at the table and have scooped ice cream. I prefer buying from the store and throw it in my freezer, so that whenever I am home and my cravings start kicking in, I have it on hand right then and there. 

This is the real deal. Smooth, creamy and full of flavor. I went back to the store the next day and got more flavors: chocolate, hazelnut and vanilla. They all turned out to be just as good. 

Here's some eye candy for you :

Cioccolatissimo: "a silky smooth Italian chocolate Gelato sumptuously flavored with chocolate sauce and finished with a selection of white, milk and dark chocolate curls".  









 Vaniglia del Madagascar: "velvety smooth Italian Gelato flavored with Vaniglia del Madagascar", one of the finest vanillas on earth. This is basically a creamy smooth milky vanilla gelato, true to the real flavor.

Bacio: chocolate and hazelnut gelato, garnished with crunchy whole hazelnuts on top. Yum!

Cappuccino: "Cappuccino Gelato flavored with coffee and garnished with a dark chocolate tablet"

Affogato all'amarena: Vanilla Gelato with cherry sauce and sweet cherries on top.

 


Panna Cotta: a replica of the traditional Italian dessert, flavored with caramel sauce and finished with caramel curls.

Fragola: "smooth Strawberry Gelato finished with soft candied strawberries"

 

Pistacchio: Pistacchio Gelato with crunchy toasted pistachios on top.







Now on to the "technical details": the ice cream is called Siviero Maria (depending on the country you live in, you might find it under the name G7 or one of their other labels). In Romania, you can find it at Carrefour hypermarkets. It's very reasonably priced, so what you get here is a great value for money. Around here, it's cheaper than Nirvana, Haagen-Dasz, Carte D'Or and other brands that sell boxes of the same quantity (500 grams).

I have tried every available flavor in the line, with the exception of two: lemon and strawberry, which are more of a summery thing for me, but I imagine they're just as good as the other ones. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find Stracciatella or Tiramisu yet and I bet they're heavenly.

So what you need to do now is go get this ice cream and tell me how you like it. Honestly, this one and Haagen-Dasz are the only ones I ever buy anymore, of the brands currently available in the local stores. Keep in mind that this is Italian Gelato, so it is going to be a bit softer than regular ice cream and it's bound to melt more quickly, therefore make sure you don't take ages to get home from the supermarket. That chit-chat with the next door neighbour will have to wait until you put this awesome little thing in the freezer.

I'm giving this 5 stars out of 5. Highly recommended. Definitely "foodgasm". For full flavor, take it out of the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes or so before eating.

As far as packaging goes, I'm okay with it. The lid is easy to take off/put on but also sturdy and the box is not made of the cheap plastic that I've seen with other brands. It's decent and it doesn't look like it was made in someone's garage. I personally like the see-through packaging because I can actually see what I'm buying.

Photos and info from the official website.

I am not affiliated with any of the brands mentioned above.

Carte D'Or Stracciatella - Ice Cream Review

Ice cream review? I know...you're probably wondering :"where did this come from?"  Well, I have recently been testing many ice cream brands and flavors available on the Romanian market (this task rocks, right? This is the type of "homework" I would have loved when I was a school kid). The other day, I was in a stracciatella mood - or, should I say "stracciatella state of mind"? - so I went out on a quest for this flavor. Unfortunately, there isn't much variety to choose from in the supermarkets here and, for the life of me, I don't know why that is, since this ice cream flavor is popular worldwide. Given my limited options, I decided to go for Carte D'Or Stracciatella (owned by Algida, which, in turn, is owned by Unilever).

Many pics you'll find on the internet look like this :

In reality it looks closer to this (if we could only photoshop the real life...)

When I finally got home, I guess I was sort of excited about possessing a stracciatella ice cream pint, but I wasn't really expecting much (I'll explain why at the end). Having ice cream or chocolate is kind of like having sex. If it's good, it's great. Like a "foodgasm". If it's bad....well, you know...no one wants bad sex.

The little "foreplay" with the plastic box was annoying...First, the box is made of cheap plastic. Never a good sign. And it kind of smells...like a bad plastic smell. Don't get me wrong, I am not all about the packaging. Pretty packaging is always a plus, but I don't let it fool me. I don't buy stuff just because it looks good and the same goes for unattractive packaging...it doesn't keep me from buying a product, unless, of course, it is absolutely horrid. Let's just say I appreciate brands that put some effort into efficient, decent looking packaging.

The lid doesn't come off easily. Don't attempt to remove it if you just had your nails done. It will most likely ruin them. Under the lid was plastic sealing foil, which is a good thing....if only it would be easy to peel off. It's not. I guess now I know how men feel when faced with a woman's bra.

The ice cream wasn't quite as flavorful as I would have liked. The chocolate chips on top were disappointing...not exactly top quality chocolate. The ice cream's consistency was okay, although a bit too "icy" for my taste and it became "watery" once it started to melt. And then there was the crunchiness factor which I wasn't particularly happy about. It was as though I could feel the undissolved sugar in the chocolate sauce.

Overall, this ice cream is just all right, but I think it's clear by now that I didn't have a "foodgasm". I wish it would taste as good as it looks in pictures. I feel that it's overpriced for what it is and I'm not going to purchase again soon. However, if you're dying for a stracciatella quick fix, this could be an option, since you don't really have that many. But if you're like me and you like your ice cream smooth, creamy and full of flavor, this is not going to rock your world, especially if you've been spoiled by a top brand like Haagen-Dasz, or if you're a fan of Italian gelato. I'm going to give this a 3.5 rating out of a maximum of 5 stars.

Why weren't my expectations for this ice cream very high? That's because I have already found what is probably the best ice cream that you can buy in the Romanian supermarkets (aside from Haagen-Dasz) and I'm going to write about it very soon, so watch this space...