Gelato con olio e sale is an Italian dessert, literally translating to ice-cream with oil and salt. Salty, sweet and rich with the delicate and fruity tang of quality olive oil, it has gained widespread popularity online in recent months. In true online fashion, the recipe has sparked serious debate, with many rejecting the inclusion of traditionally savoury ingredients in desserts, in this case, oil. What’s not up for debate? The versatility of olive oil.
With the new season of olive oil upon us, we caught up with two of Victoria’s leading olive oil producers, Richard Seymour of Mount Zero Olives and Leandro Ravetti of Cobram Estate, on the versatility of this fragrant golden nectar.
On the oil and ice-cream trend
“It’s great to see more and more people realise that extra-virgin olive oil is an extremely versatile product. I’m a big fan of olive oil and ice-cream,” says Leandro Ravetti. “I love extra-virgin olive oil, rosemary and wild honey ice-cream, both when the olive oil is an ingredient of the ice-cream, or when it is simply used as a topping.”
On choosing the right oil
“We’ve been enjoying olive oil with ice-cream since well before the advent of TikTok,” says Richard Seymour from Mount Zero Olives. “We’re pretty spoiled for choice as we make some agrumato oils (citrus pressed together with olives) and our favourite combo at the moment is yuzu agrumato over vanilla ice-cream. Mandarin agrumato oil comes in a close second.”
Leandro Ravetti reckons Cobram’s hojiblanca oil works both as an ingredient or topping. “Vanilla ice-cream, hojiblanca oil, fresh finely sliced pear and ricotta is an amazing match, but you can also go for fior di latte ice-cream, our picual oil and finely chopped fresh basil leaves,” he says. “Or an even bolder combo: chocolate sorbet, coratina oil and kosher salt.”
On other olive oil trends
“The incorporation of high-quality oil into coffee making is also another trendy topic at the moment” says Ravetti. It’s quite simple and you only need to add a couple of teaspoons of your favourite oil to your milk for a latte (it is ideal for low-fat milk or plant-based milks) before you heat it up with the steaming wand. This will take your next latte to glossy, rich and tasty new levels. Additionally, you can combine both trends by pouring your strong olive-oil latte on top of some nice vanilla ice-cream with a bit of extra-virgin for an EVOO affogato.”
Verdict: thing
By Maxi Sam-Morris