Claudia Romeo: We are in Ruvo di Puglia, Italy,
and today I'm going to meet with Vincenzo and Giuliana,
who make some of the most exquisite gelato in the country.
Their story is as rich
as the one of their hometown, Ruvo,
that is renowned for its architecture
and rich craftsmanship.
For the two siblings, it's all about keeping
the craft of gelato making alive.
And the best way to do that
is to take your family recipe from 1840
and never changing it.
Let's go find out more.
This is a story of how one family took gelato
to a small southern Italian town 180 years ago
and gave it a home.
The family recipe calls for only three ingredients:
Claudia: Gelato at Mokambo has been made this way since...
well, since 1840.
It's all thanks to Uncle Luigi,
who brought the art of gelato making
from the royal courts of Naples to his hometown, Ruvo,
which has been synonymous with gelato ever since.
The original 1840 recipe,
which is called the King's Cream,
has been joined by seven other flavors:
pistachio, almond, chocolate, quince,
nougat, gianduia, and hazelnut.
All ingredients are seasonal,
and that is why your go-to winter flavor here
would never be, say, strawberry,
but almond.
This flavor in particular is made
with a homemade almond butter,
which is actually grinding before our eyes as we speak.
We're now finally adding
that third and final ingredient, milk.
Claudia: But we are not finished yet.
First, we need to cook it.
And if you think that you could just skip this step,
please keep watching.
Giuliana feels pretty strongly about it.
Claudia: It's now time to pour our cooked mixture
in the gelato machine,
which will freeze the cream
and transform it into gelato.
Claudia: You may have been watching this
for only a few minutes,
but it actually took us five hours
to make only one flavor.
And while I feel for Giuliana
having to do this eight times every day
for each flavor,
I can't wait to taste the one I worked for today.
So let's get to it.
Will I be transported to 1840 with this gelato?
Claudia: You know what I just said
about making one flavor taking five hours?
Well, this tasting part was no joke either.
Giuliana and Vincenzo are very serious about
letting me taste every single flavor.
Giuliana keeps scooping some more gelato for me.
And a special mention goes to...
[Vincenzo laughs]
I really thought we ended with a bang
with pistachio, which I loved,
but I may have a new favorite after all:
the King's Scepter.
This one takes three days to make
and is made from Iranian saffron.
Giuliana serves it in a cone
filled with cream and pistachio paste.
She then covers the gelato
with some more cream and gold leaves.