Gelato comes to College Mall

Ice Cream Gelato is hard to miss. Located in College Mall, the shop nestles close to the South entrance. And the shop's namesake, the gelato, is as brightly colored as the décor. Bins of bright green, pink, yellow, white and purple fill the coolers. These colors are a direct result of the natural fruit and ingredients used to create the creamy treat. \nGelato, the Italian word for ice cream, originated in Sicily during the 16th century. According to www.specialty food.com, the word gelato is the past participle of the Italian verb gelare, "to freeze." The ice cream is made very slowly with whole milk, cream, eggs, sugar and fruit, nuts or purées. It has little or no air, which makes it more dense. Plus, the low butterfat content means more intense flavors. Chemical stabilizers and emulsifiers are not used. \nThe gelato is homemade by Grace Lee, one of the shop's owners. Lee takes pride in the fact the gelato is all natural. She uses whole milk and natural ingredients instead of artificial flavoring and syrups like regular ice cream shops use, she said. \n"For instance, if it is chocolate, I use milk chocolate and sugar," Lee said. "People like the chocolate flavor because it is from Italy, and most people like European chocolate better." \nChocolate isn't the only flavor people come back for. The most popular flavors at the shop are the fruit flavors. \n"They like the fruit ones a lot because it's fresh fruit and it's not so heavy," Lee said. \nNot only does the gelato taste exactly like its fruit flavor, but if you look closely, you can see the strawberry seeds in the strawberry gelato and the kiwi seeds in the kiwi gelato. \nYisel Burns, a mall employee, stops at the shop on her breaks. She said she likes it because Ice Cream Gelato uses real fruit. \n"I like the Mango, Kiwi and Pineapple flavors -- it is really good," Burns said. \nLee notes the flavors Burns likes are the ones without milk. \nWhen Lee and her husband Sukwon Lee, came up with the idea to open a gelato shop, they wanted to provide a light, healthy product. She also said the gelato appeals to Bloomington residents because of their health conscious attitudes. \n"People here care about health -- it's like a little California," she said. \nThough the Lees opened the shop for Bloomington residents, Susan Jacobs, an employee and sophomore majoring in dietetics, said most of the people who visit the shop are from New York, New Jersey and California. \n"A lot of people in Bloomington don't know about it. People from bigger cities tend to like it because they are familiar with gelato," Jacobs said. \nBlair and Mary Roderique, who just moved to Bloomington from New York City, are prime examples of this. They come to the shop every time they visit the mall.\n"We usually get the mango and green tea gelato," Blair said. \nThey say the shop is a fresh addition to Bloomington, and they miss the gelato shop from the Chinatown ice cream factory they used to visit in New York. \n"It is nice to see people in Indiana branch out and have new things," Mary Roderique said. \nThe shop offers more than gelato, it also offers sandwiches with chips, smoothies, coffee, tea and other products. \nJacobs said the gelato is addictive and the sandwiches are really good -- especially the bread. \n"(The bread) is so good but she won't tell me where they get it," \nLee is very protective of her recipes and ingredients. She acquires all of the fresh fruit from a market out of town, and the bread is ordered from an unknown source. \nThe base recipe comes from an Italian gelato maker who traveled from Italy to give her private gelato-making lessons. \n"I did not know how to make it when we first got the idea." Lee said. \n"In Italy, it is served softer, but people here are used to firmer ice cream, so I make it to accommodate their tastes." \nShe perfected her recipe through trial and error, and now she can make almost any flavor on demand. \n"Green tea gelato is popular in Japan and China," Lee said. "And I made it because an international student came in and asked for it."\nWhen a Korean student wanted sweet potato gelato, she thought it was a little weird, but made it anyway. \n"Now, lots of Korean students come in to get it because it is popular in Korea," Lee said.\nJacobs said the relationship the Lees have with the customer is what makes the shop unique. \n"They are really nice -- they go out of their way for customers -- they will even come from behind the counter to give you your gelato," she said.\nShe even comments on Sukwon Lee and his humorous approach to customers.\n"Everything he says cracks me up -- he remembers all the customers by face," Jacobs said.\nGrace Lee's aim to please her customers has led her to try new flavors like rum and raisin and cranberry. She also makes gelato cakes for customers.\n"If my customers ask, I will try to make it," Lee said. \n-- Contact assistant arts editor Patrice Worthy at pworthy@indiana.edu.