Tartufo Near You

What Is Tartufo?

If there's one thing we can all agree on it's that ice cream is incredible. Still, not every ice cream is created equal. And a prime example of that is the Italian invention - Tartufo.

Tartufo is this special dessert that has the shape of a ball. And inside that ball, at least two kinds of gelato i.e. ice cream are put together. Also, to make things more perfect, melted chocolate is placed in the center.

But hey, you can't have the two ice creams just floating around, can you? Well, maybe in Star Wars, but our Tartufo usually has a chocolate case to keep everything intact.

Another option for the Tartufo core is to use frozen fruit such as strawberry or raspberry instead of melted chocolate. As for its cover, cocoa or even cinnamon are good substitutes for chocolate.

When it comes to its preparation, the gelato flavors in Tartufo are formed by hand. From there, lukewarm chocolate is used to cover the ice cream ball. Or another way is to roll it in the chocolate (or cocoa) and freeze it afterward.

Where was Tartufo invented?

As mentioned earlier, Tartufo was invented in Italy. Or to be more specific - in Pizzo, Calabria, which is a region in Southern Italy.

The credit for creating the very first Tartufo goes to Giuseppe De Maria better known as Don Pippo.

He was working at Bar Dante together with Dante Veronelli who had been the owner of the place since 1946. Both of them were from Messina and they made the business quite successful.

Later on, when Veronelli passed away, Don Pippo became the sole owner of Bar Dante.

It wasn't until 1952 that Don Pippo actually invented the Tartufo. And what's interesting is this happened simply by luck.

Thing is, there was an important wedding going on and Don Pippo was in charge of the desserts. What was so noteworthy about this ceremony you may ask? Well, one of the guests was an heir of Victor Emmanuel II, a king of Italy from the 19th century.

With guests like that, it would be a really bad time to run out of supplies. And this is exactly what happened to Don Pippo - he ran out of molds for his ice cream. But this proved to be a blessing in disguise, to say the least.

Thinking quickly on his feet, Don Pippo placed bits of hazelnut and chocolate gelato in his hands. Next, he put in some melted chocolate, covered the whole thing in construction paper, and then left it to cool. And voilà - the Tartufo was born!

As you may expect, Don Pippo's new dessert was an instant success. So much so, that we still gush over it to this day.

Any other Tartufo fun facts?

Sure thing, we got some more interesting information on this sweet treat:

• The original Tartufo recipe is still cherished by Don Pippo's family.
• Don Pippo's nephews became his successors. Their names are Giorgio and Gaetano Di lorgi. They started working in the gelato business back in 1950. And when Don Pippo retired in 1965, Giorgio became the owner of Bar Dante. As for Gaetano, he and his brother purchased the bar Ercole that same year. Today, these places are still run by the family.
• The first Tartufo was coined as "Tartufo di Pizzo."
• The term Tartufo means "truffle." That's due to the similar look between the two.
• The Tartufo has received an IGP status. This stands for "Indication of Geographic Protection" which connects certain foods to a place of their making. In other words, only if created in Pizzo can it be called Tartufo di Pizzo.

How many calories are in a Tartufo dessert?

A single serving of Tartufo contains around 493 calories.

In addition, there are 26g of total fat or 40% of the daily value based on a 2000-calorie diet. There are also 52mg of cholesterol (17%), 421mg of sodium (18%), and 328mg of potassium (9%). And the amount of total carbohydrates is 59g or 20%.

Moreover, we got 6g of protein, 11% of vitamin A, 1% of vitamin C, and 12% of calcium.

Where can I get Tartufo near me?

Even though Pizzo, Italy is far from here, you can still get some outstanding Tartufo in the States.

For those of you in Chicago, our recommendation is Ignotz's Ristorante. Located at 2421 S Oakley Ave, they got Tartufo as part of their desserts. You can either give them a visit or order takeout or delivery via Slice.

And if you're in New York, then Justino's Pizza at 881 10th Ave is the right place to get some Tartufo. They even offer several different flavors and you save 5% on any online order through Slice.

That being said, you can check the listings on this page to find Tartufo near you if you're somewhere else.

And there you have it - all you need to know about Tartufo. Now the only thing left is to go and grab some for yourself. It's one of the tastiest desserts you can have!