Double Delites sells gelato, gifts, and gourmet popcorn.

Hmmm...what flavor to make? Julie makes the big decision.

According to Wikipedia, Gelato, or the plural Gelati, is Italian ice cream made from milk and sugar, combined with other flavorings. The gelato ingredients (after an optional pasteurization) are frozen while stirring to break up ice crystals as they form. Like high end ice cream, gelato generally has less than 35% air - resulting in a dense and extremely flavorful product. The name comes from the Italian word gelare, meaning "to freeze". 

Getting hungry? Stop in at Double Delites in downtown Egg Harbor for an indulgence.

Our visit to this attractive business was a double delight in itself. Not only an introduction to the shop and its friendly, hard-working owners and staff, we received instruction on just how this great stuff is made. Along with a few other willing participants and sample tasters, we made our way to the back of the clean and cheerful shop to learn the secrets of the craft. 

Owners Julie and Jeff Perley opened the store in 2006 after a long investigation into all aspects of the business. Both have a background in the dental field, and Julie has made the complete career switch to food entrepreneur with this endeavor. Part of the research was being mentored by a native Italian lady in the Milwaukee area that steered her in the right direction on quality and sourcing for a top notch gelato product. In the photo, Julie selects from a large assortment of basic flavor ingredients for the concoction of the hour. Imported from Italy, such ingredients maintain high standards of quality and flavor. Even the little containers used to serve customers the product are from Italy. So who needs to go to Italy for gelato?

Ingredients are mixed and placed in the special gelato machine.

After mixing with milk and sugar (water for the fruit Sorbettos), the liquid is poured into a highly specialized gelato-making machine. A multi-phase freezing process taking several minutes at precise temperatures assures the proper consistency. The neat thing is that all product served each day is hand made just a while in advance of its sale. Talk about being fresh! On this occasion we were shown how to create Gran Stracciatella flavored gelato, which is kind of a fancy way of saying chocolate topping on rich vanilla gelato.

Presto! The real thing!

At last the ingredients have been transformed into gelato and the operator "stacks" the product into the serving tray. This takes some practice, but makes sure the final result not only looks good but maintains its consistency. Julie has lots of flavors to choose from, but not all are made each day. There are just too many, and customers can be made pretty happy with about a dozen at a time. One might find Pistachio, Chocolate Hazelnut, Mango, Banana, Raspberry, Pink Grapefruit (!) or Cappuccino. There are some pretty wild flavors that may strike the fancy of some and also allow for creativity on the part of the gelato-maker! Flavors made with Splenda are available.

 

The topping ... the best part.

The final step is to spoon on the special chocolate topping. Who gets to lick the spoon? Guess. The tray is then either placed into the freezer or directly into the display case, also imported from Italy. It's time for tasting, so we partake of that activity. Gelato is served at a slightly higher temperature than traditional ice cream and contains less fat! What's not to love about that! We finish the lesson with a new appreciation for products that are hand made on site rather than mass-produced and shipped in. We decide to return another day for another flavor.

There's a whole other aspect of this business. Gourmet popcorn. They make it on site and sell it in the store and on the internet. Lots of flavors are available, and not just the traditional cheese and caramel varieties. There's Jalapeno, Salsa Verde, Rajin Cajin, Ranch, Honey Mustard, Chocolate/Cherry, Wild Cherry, Chocolate/Banana, Banana, and Green Apple, just to name a few. The business caters to fundraisers by offering the popcorn packed in designer tins, ready to be sold anywhere. They even help groups determine what to charge for the items to assure success!

Best of all, Double Delites is open through December.