Saturday, April 30, 2016

Freezer Favs: Ciao Bella's Blood Orange Sorbetto


While this blog is primarily a fan of local scoop shops, it acknowledges that sometimes a person just wants to stay in for the night. That being said, this is one of my Freezer Favorites.

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Blood oranges are among my favorite foods on earth. My intimate relationship with the fruit began during two days in Cinque Terre, five neighboring cliff-side towns on the Italian Riviera. The first day was spent enjoying the views while walking from one town to the other and hiking up into the hills. On the second day, I simply found a bench to gaze at the Mediterranean Sea for hours and hours while writing postcards and enjoying a blood orange.

From the outside, blood oranges look identical to conventional orange oranges. But beneath its pulp is a fruit the color of carnage, so dark it looks like it would leave a permanent stain, much like murder leaves a stain upon one's soul (or something). Suffice to say, blood orange fans are often left red-handed. The flavor--oh! the flavor!--lands somewhere between the sweet, sunny citrus of oranges and the bitter, sometimes harsh and cleansing flavor of grapefruit.

Over the years, I've purchased many a product with the words "blood orange" on its label. With the exception Aliseo's 100% blood orange juice I can get at my local Italian market, none have captured the essence of the fruit as well as Ciao Bella's Blood Orange sorbetto. The flavor intensity is so high because 99% of the product is water, cane sugar and blood orange juice/concentrate. The smooth, smooooth sorbetto (not that chunky, icy stuff some companies serve) curls onto the spoon and slides down the throat, awakening the senses as it does.

Ciao Bella's Blood Orange Sorbetto, I salute you!

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