By Rosa Moraes

The ice cream sector in Brazil currently has more than 11 thousand companies and a turnover of more than R$ 14 billion per year, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Industries and the Ice Cream Sector (ABIS). But one movement in particular has been gaining strength in recent times, driven by the growing demand from Brazilians for more natural products with less fat and sugar: the market of artisanal sorbets and gelatos produced using Italian techniques increases by 8% to 10% year on year, especially in large urban centers such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba.

The know-how was brought from Italy, but the Brazilian “ginga” soon took care of making its adaptations, breaking the bubble of traditional flavors such as strawberry, vanilla, pistachio and chocolate to introduce native ingredients and local recipes. This, by the way, is a major trend in Brazilian gastronomy: chefs, pastry chefs, producers and other actors in the food chain have started to look inward and value products from home - in this case, a country of continental dimensions with one of the richest biodiversity in the world.

Concerning the gelatos, the combination of traditional preparation with regional flavors is noteworthy. Some examples that illustrate this well are the mascarpone gelato with “goiabada” from Artisano Gelato, which replicates a classic from our table called Romeo and Juliet: the marriage of cheese with the flavor of the typical guava sweet. There's also tapioca with coconut from Pine Co., carrot cake from Dezato Gelato Artesanal, “paçoca” with dulce de leche from Pinguina Sorvetes... Even restaurants got in on the act, as in the case of Mocotó, where chef Rodrigo Oliveira launched his rapadura ice cream (a sweet made from sugar cane) with sugarcane “melado”, pieces of rapadura and Catuaba syrup, which is a popular Brazilian drink.

Now, if you want a good place to discover the art of gelatos with native flavors, the tip is at Beco do Batman, which is a popular tourist spot in the city of São Paulo. There, a young confectioner from Rio called Fabricio Luminato opened the doors of the small Lumi Creamy, where he pours over creative inventions. There's “bolo de rolo” gelato, cashew gelato with cachaça, corn curau gelato, coriander gelato and even “manteiga de garrafa” gelato (a typical liquid butter from the Northeast region - all served in the chef's exclusive cone, made from cassava. But one flavor in particular catches my attention on Lumi's menu: the non-pistachio, which Fabricio prepares with pumpkin seeds and, many say, tastes more like pistachios than many industrially manufactured ice creams with flavorings. There is no better representative of the art of gelateria with the “bossa” of Brazilian cuisine!