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Visiting the quaint gold rush town of Placerville is a nice way to spend an afternoon. There are many shops to wander through, quaint eateries, gold rush history etc. I, however, recommend you go for, above all else, two very important reasons, Olive Oil and Gelato. Here is why!
We were visiting old town Placerville to interview the proprietors at Winterhill Olive Oil for an upcoming feature. Winterhill Olive Oil is a cute little store offering tastings and selling artisan olive oil as well as other products from local producers. They were kind enough to tell us a little bit about a new store across the street, Zia’s Gelateria. You know we had to check it out. What a great tip!
Zia’s is bright and cheery. The case is full of what I can immediately see is handmade gelato. The flavors are unique and look tremendously appetizing. I was excited the owner, Shari, was at the counter and eager to speak with us. Turns out, Shari is what I would call an expert in the area of gelato. She explained she learned to make gelato in Italy and spent time working with other gelato ‘experts’ in the U.S. before she opened her store, ensuring she had mastered the technique.
Being that she is a fabulous human being, she began spooning out flavors for us to taste. They were all beautiful. The flavors of the fruit were crisp and clean, not overly sweet. The Mango blew me away, it truly explodes on your pallet in a balanced, bright way.
The texture of gelato truly sets it apart from ice cream, which I thought meant it had more fat content. Shari explained that the dairy based gelato’s are made from milk, not heavy cream and thusly, have less fat content than ice cream. She also explained that the gelato making process incorporates far less air than traditional ice cream, allowing the product to be rich, dense and creamy. Did she really say ‘less fat’? Yes folks, she did!
She was full of passion when she explained that all of her products are hand made and she uses local, fresh, seasonal fruits for her sorbeto’s purchased sometimes daily from area farmers markets and producers. Creating her own recipes, she uses wine from local wineries for flavors like the Cabernet and Berry, which was amazing! She showed us a case featuring hand made gelato filled cakes, cookies and pastries, which would be a great dessert for a party or gathering. Something for you to keep in mind the next time you have company.
There were some other lunch items in the case hand made by a local Italian Deli. When I congratulated her for investing so much of herself to do it all the right way, she responded, “If I can’t make it myself, I know someone who can”. I applaud her dedication to serving only the best to her customers.
Her website explains the name, Zia, is Italian for Aunt. To me, that says it all. In typical Italian fashion, full of love and passion for what she is doing, Shari has embraced us all as family, serving food hand made from the best ingredients. It is what all food artisans should strive to do.
Lounging on a sofa in the comfortable café setting around the back of the service counter, we marveled at the flavors of the three we chose to sit down with, Winterhill Olive Oil, Chocolate Hazelnut and Crème Brule. They were absolutely divine. We left smiling and happy. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Thanks Auntie Shari, we will be back! Go visit Zia’s Gelateria soon and check out all the fabulous things she has to offer on her website, http://www.ziasgelato.com/
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