Mayberry and Madisono's Gelato!

Madisono's is always so happy to be a part of Cincinnati's great restaurants. Mayberry is one of our newest accounts located among the urban architecture at 1211 Main Street downtown. It's got a super relaxed atmosphere with high beautiful dark wooden beams mixed into the urban interior. We had the cobb salad, which adheres to our family's credo that everything tastes better with a fried egg on it. True, true! The fish tacos were also excellent with the fresh tomato and topped with spicy chile lime crema. But of course, you are reading this because you like dessert, right? Then save room for the pudding with apple caramel sauce and Madisono's Madagascar Vanilla gelato. And get your dining friend to try the mulled wine poached pear rolled in gingerbread with some Madisono's Cinnamon Gelato.

Madisono's Candy Cane Gelato

Madisono's Candy Cane Gelato his is a crowd pleasing flavor for the holiday season. We start with our classic madagascar vanilla gelato base and add candy canes to give the peppermint flavor profile. We use the hand pulled red and white candy canes from Minges Wholesale Candy, located right here in Cincinnati. We prefer the hand-pulled canes to the machine manufactured ones because the airiness of the candy gives a nice crispy crunch to the texture.

Want to try a scoop with a nice cup of hot chocolate? Or add it to the side of a rich, dark chocolate cake for a festive and easy dessert.

Nothing's fishy about the success of Anchor OTR

One of the newest additions to the developing over the rhine quarter district, Anchor OTR is a hip seafood restaurant at 1401 Race Street. The restaurant opened with such an overwhelming success that they actually ran out of food! Now that's saying something.

I was excited to see what the buzz was about so I visited on a Saturday night with my wife. They do not take reservations so we went early (also because we consider ourselves to be old and must return before the hipster kids take over and make us feel even older). The exterior and interior walls are textured and colored with burnt cedar facings, the space has an orderly and comfortable feel with brown paper insets and oyster crackers on the tables. Their belief that "uncomplicated is better" is felt as well as seen. The service was excellent and the menu was full of delicious choices. We eventually resolved to try the cockles and hush puppies for appetizers, then had the calamari and lemon salad to share. Our main courses were divine; my wife had the scallops and risotto and I had the X. The only difficulty was choosing between the ice cream sundae or the seasonal crisp for dessert. Both included our Madisono's Madagascar Vanilla Gelato, so we were stumped. In the end, the blueberry crisp won out and we were in homebaked heaven.

Donna's Gourmet Cookies loves a little Madisono's too!

We have been enjoying Donna's Gourmet Cookies for years and now. Seriously, every cookie is a dense, chewy sweet delight that is a meal in itself. Of course they are made from scratch and with all natural ingredients. That's why they're so darn good!

Donna is now selling our Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet in her retail location at 10796 Montgomery Road in Montgomery, so when you pick up your order (call 513-489-9600 or order online here) you can also grab a pint and send yourself to sweet heaven. Donna also ships her cookies so you can share with your friends who can't make the trip to Cincinnati.

Check out our new restaurant partners!

We've updated our list of restaurants that serve Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet and are honored to add the following eateries to our roster. We like to say that they all have really good taste, and for that we are grateful.

Anchor OTR, Cincinnati, OH
Bronte Bistro in Joseph Beth Bookstore, Hyde Park
Cafe De Wheels, Cincinnati Food Truck
Half Day Cafe, Wyoming, OH
Mayberry, Cincinnati, OH
Coles 735, Lexington
Rue de Maine, Dayton

And those are just the new additions to our list. Find all the restaurants that offer our products right here. It might make the "Where are we going to eat?" question that much easier to answer.

Madisono's at Miami University!

We are super enthusiastic about our new partnership with Miami University's on campus market in McCracken Hall. Marketplace at McCracken is an on-site general store stocked full of the college necessities like laundry detergent, cold medicine, candy, fresh salads and organic produce and snacks. What a brilliant idea!

Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet is now going to be included in the frozen foods offerings so you can get some lemon basil sorbet to keep you awake on those late night study sessions. Or perhaps soothe some boyfriend troubles with a pint of Dark Chocolate Orange gelato. Or grab a pint of Caramello with sea salt and head to a bench on the green for some socializing.

If the freezing rain holds off, we'll be sampling our gelato today at the "Local Day" festivities. Come on down and say hello to your new foodie obsession!

New Fall Flavors from Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet!

They're here! We're very excited to start distribution on our seasonal flavors for fall. One of our favorite aspects to owning a gelato and sorbet company is that we get to create new flavors for our customers. These were especially fun to make since we partnered with so many local vendors. We love to support other local  and family-owned businesses and know that it makes Cincinnati the delicious place that it is!

We hope you have the chance to try one or all! Available at our retailers and select restaurants.

(from left to right)

1.      Spiced Cider Sorbet: Made with local fresh pressed cider from Beiersdorfer Orchards in Guilford, Indiana. We add our in own blend of mulling spices, then finish with fresh orange zest.

2.     Concord Grape Sorbet: Made with 100% concord grape juice, and no preservatives. Madisono’s has great relationship with a grower’s cooperative in New York, in the heart of Welch’s grape country.  The high pectin in the grape juice and our recipe science yields a creamy sorbet. Try it with peanut butter pie or as an intermezzo. We debuted this at ZooBrew last week and received rave reviews!

       

3.     Maple Walnut Gelato:  Made with Ohio maple syrup from Bonhomie Acres in Fredricktown, (their syrup is sold at Madison’s Market at Findlay Market).  We add chopped walnuts and brown sugar for a flavorful finish. How about some on a waffle?

4.     Cinnamon Crunch Gelato: Made from our own cinnamon gelato base in 15 gallon batches. The high oil content of the Vietnamese cinnamon delivers a real cinnamon punch.  Just before the gelato makes it into the pints, we blend French vanilla granola into the ribbons of frozen goodness.  My kids say it tastes like cinnamon toast crunch cereal. I think it is the best of a snickerdoodle. Let us know what you think!  

Affogato! Party on, Italian style

One of our favorite ways to eat Madisono's Gelato is with espresso coffee. It's is called affogato and it's the most quick and glorious dessert! Simply pour hot espresso over vanilla gelato and serve. We loved seeing this Italian after dinner treat mentioned in the September 2012 issue of Bon Apetit as Peter Som's favorite 'go to' dessert when entertaining.

Great Gelato Poster

I just stumbled upon this poster for the Brooklyn Larder, an artesianal foodie shop in Brooklyn, New York (of course!) What a great image for one of our favorite food groups. :oP

There are some other really clever ones, including one with salami that might make a nice gift for my brother-in-law. See what I mean?

CSO Opening Night Gala

Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet is very proud to be partnering with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Opera this year!

Bella Notte, the Opening Night Gala was absolutely beautiful with Pucci inspired linens and colors of bright pink, green and yellow. Of course, the best treat of all was the absolutely stellar performance of the people's diva Renee Fleming. This was her much anticipated Cincinnati debut and she certainly did not disappoint!

After the performance, the Music Hall Ballroom was transformed into an Italian piazza by the ever talented Joe Rigotti. Guests finished the evening with coffee, sweets and some Madisono's Dark Chocolate Orange and Caramello Gelato as well as Lemon Basil sorbet. We served it out of our new mobile cart, which is available for future events and fundraisers. Bravo!

Beautiful centerpieces which included lemons and orchids

Dishing out the other Italian treat for the evening

The Vespa scooters added to the Italian ambience, but I can't believe I didn't get a photo of the yellow Ferrari!

The amazing Renee Fleming!

Zoofari 2012

Wow! We've had a great week of Galas. Last Saturday was the zoo's top fundraising event Zoofari. The event takes guests through the zoo, stopping for appetizers, wine and live animals presented by zoo keepers along the way. The final destination is the tented area transformed into an Indian adventure, brought to life in a huge tent splashed with magenta, red and purple lighting, rich red tables topped with oversized cut metal lanterns, Bollywood style dancing and more.

Dinner is served 'by the bite' at the various food stations, each catered by a Cincinnati restaurant. Dinner of course finishes with desserts prepared by some of the best restaurants, bakeries and confectioners in Cincinnati. Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet was pleased to be offering our custom flavor for the evening: Cardamom Kulfi (Indian style ice cream) with Alphonso mango puree. The greatest compliments came from folks who were from India...it's difficult to impress someone who knows what true Indian flavors are, so we were very humbled to know we'd hit the mark.

This was an incredible 10+ foot sculpture created by 7 Hills School

Cookies from Queen City Cookie

Pawpaw sorbet, Bouquet Restaurant and Findlay Market

Bouquet Restaurant created this 4 grain salad and topped it with Madisono's Pawpaw Sorbet

 Last night we were so happy to participate in the Eat Local for The Globe fundraising event at Findlay Market. Excellent local food creations were presented to ticket holders in two ways: buy a 7 course meal created and cooked by local chefs OR choose to graze along the food tents where more restaurants and chefs prepared portions of delicious food for guests. We have a special place in our hearts for Findlay Market as it was the first place where I started selling my products (then it was our farm produce and specialty mushrooms) in a pop-up tent on Elder Street. The changes we've seen over the past 12 years have been astounding and we believe Findlay Market is the pulse of the local food community.

Madisono's Gelato was paired with Bouquet Restaurant on Main Street in Covington, KY and we were located right in front of Madison's Market on Elder Street (that pop-up tent has changed a little to a full produce and specialty food shop run by Bryan and Carolyn Madison). Chef Stephen Williams created the most amazing 4 grain salad which included quinoa, flax seed, hemp seed and buckwheat. He added dragon beans, tomatoes, watermelon and blended those ingredients with a honey citrus dressing. The ingredients were sourced locally and donated by Madison's Market. Madisono's created a Pawpaw sorbet which topped the salad. "Pawpaw sorbet?" you say? "What't that?" We'll tell you about this local specialty next week.

It never ceases to amaze me what talented chefs like Stephen can create. We are very lucky indeed!

The 7 course meal was served at long tables in and near the Farmer's Market Shed

The grazing event was along the perimiter of the Findlay Market House

Madisono's at Cork N Bottle in Kentucky

Did you know that Madisono's gelato and sorbet is available at the Buttermilk Pike and Covington locations of Cork N' Bottle? You could pair some lemon basil sorbet with a lovely dessert wine like prosecco and have a special kind of evening tonight.

Madisono's Chocolate Gelato base

We at Madisono's think it's important to keep as much of the gelato making process in our control. We make all our bases from scratch because it makes a better tasting product, which is obviously very important to us and to our customers.

This is what it looks like when we start the cooking process of our chocolate base. Those dark brown circles are the chips floating around. Cool looking, huh?

A visit to Young's Dairy

Young's Dairy is only 40 minutes from Cincinnati, so I'm surprised how long it took me to pay them a visit. I'd read about Young's Dairy in my Frozen Foods Magazine (yes, there is such a publication...) and was impressed. They claimed 10,000 visitors in a week! I swear I thought it was a typo; how could an ice cream place in a rural part of Ohio draw so many visitors??

Last Saturday was my chance to find out. I gathered my family and set out to visit the Art Show in Yellow Springs, Ohio, go raspberry picking and finish off with a little ice cream treat from Young's. I can definitely see the attraction to tourists and locals alike! The dairy is set in the beautiful farm countryside amid rolling fields of soy beans and corn.

Jersey cows are known for their rich milk, so Young's ice cream has 15% butterfat. They make all the ice cream at the facility, along with cheeses and other dairy products sold in their Dairy Store. But wait, there's more! The Golden Jersey Inn serves homestyle cooking for dining and events, the Udders and Putters offers miniature golf, Cowvin's Kiddie Corral is a play area for those kids under 48", the Moovers and Shakers train ride operates in the spring, summer and fall, and there are more events scheduled throughout the year. Right now the corn maze is open!

A fun, family-friendly atmosphere is definitely what draws all those customers. We waited in a line that curled around the dining area before entering into the ice cream shop, where wiggly kids could climb around on miniature cows if they were feeling impatient. Though the line was long, I think we really only waited about 20 minutes, so those scooping kids sure know how to do their jobs quickly! We enjoyed some mint chip, chocolate chip, chocolate, and cookie dough scoops. Delicious and fun.

Madisono's Goes Mobile!

We at Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet really love being a part of the Cincinnati community. We enjoy attending all the concerts, fundraisers, and events that are always happening around our city and wanted to make ourselves more available to the Cincinnati fans of our gelato and sorbet for some of these out door venues.

So, while we have some other really exciting stuff brewing (and we are dying to tell you, but all in due time...) ONE of the new additions is our Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet mobile cart! We will pack it full of delicious cups of gelato and sorbet, and our tasty MadPops too and see you at events around Cincinnati.

Have you been to College Hill Coffee Co.?

College Hill Coffee Company is a great little coffee and lunch place on Hamilton Avenue in College Hill. They have been serving Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet there for several years, and it's so much what a local coffee house should be; comfortable & friendly with a warm personality. In addition to delicious coffee drinks and a cozy couch to nestle into, there is a delicious cafe menu for lunch and really delightful gift items for kids, adults and coffee lovers incorporated into the two spacious rooms. Check out their website for family friendly live music too. When you stop by, have a little Madisono's gelato with your coffee and tell them we sent ya!

Chocolate Gems, Asheville, SC

When ever I'm on vacation, we delight in discovering the frozen dessert options in each town we visit. It's a delicious way to "work" while I'm away!

This year we spent 2 days in Asheville, South Carolina and were eager to give Chocolate Gems a try. They offer delicious chocolate confections, in addition to some delicious gelato options. The store is in a spacious historic building with high ceilings, broad wooden floors and bistro tables scattered throughout the eating area.

The gelato was absolutely delicious! My wife raved about the toasted almond, saying that it had a lovely mellow almond flavor with crunchy toasted almonds blended into the gelato and as a garnish on top. Based on the complexity of the almond flavor, my assessment is that it was created not with almond extract (which leaves a tinny and slightly artificial almond flavor) but with almond paste. Good choice! I really enjoyed the chocolate, which had a deep, complex cocoa flavor and a creamy texture. My daughter tried the pink grapefruit and was smitten. When asked what made it so great, she claimed that it was equally as good as Madisono's Pink Grapefruit but in a different way. This version had a good tart grapefruit flavor and a beautiful soft pink color and in the end, we realized that it was the soft texture that made the difference. She is usually eating our pink grapefruit out of a pint from the freezer, which is kept at a colder temperature than the gelato pans in a shop. It's good to remember that subtle differences in texture and temperature can make an entirely different gelato experience.

Having given the gelato it's day in court, we purchased some chocolates and devoured those. Clearly, this is a place that truly believes in creating fine quality products. If you're in Asheville, we definitely recommend that you stop by!

Madisono's is getting ready for the Choir Games!

Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet is SUPER excited to be offering our products to visitors here in Cincinnati for the 2012 World Choir Games! Sugar Plums Cupcakes (their storefront is in Mason) will be selling our gelato and sorbet at their booth in the World Choir Games International Market Place on 5th and Race streets downtown. We'd talk more about it but right now, we're busy producing the 10,000 6 oz. cups of Caramello with Sea Salt, Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet and Madagascar Vanilla. Whew!

If you are experiencing the excitement downtown, stop by and refresh yourself with a cooling cup!

Pair Madisono's gelato with this delicious Crumb Cake

If you're looking for an easy summertime dessert, this might strike your fancy. We found the rhubarb crumb cake recipe on the foodie blog Bob Vivant and recreated it with raspberries for our Sunday dinner guests. It's pretty good on it's own (like an almond studded fruity brownie textured cake), but we recommend the addition of Madisono's Madagascar Vanilla gelato. Recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

Butter for greasing the pan

THE CRUMB:

2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour (or all purpose)
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
2 tablespoons rolled oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

THE CAKE:

2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon almond extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour (or all purpose)
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2″ pieces

Equipment

8-inch, deep, fluted tart pan or 8-inch springform pan

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of the baking pan.
2. For the crumb, combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Using a fork or your fingers, gently work in the butter until pea-sized lumps are formed.
3. Combine the eggs, sugar, salt, and almond extract in a large bowl. Beat on high until the mixture triples in volume, about five minutes. Fold in the melted butter, flour, and rhubarb. Evenly spread the thick batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 60-75 minutes, until the topping is deeply golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the pan when it’s completely cool.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Madisono's graces the cover of 513eats

I'm pretty sure we talk about this all the time, but if you love Cincinnati and food and beautiful photography and foodie articles, you will really, really (and we mean REALLY) love this publication. Every photo deserves to be in an oversized coffee table book.

This month's issue of 513eats is especially wonderful because Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet is included in a feature article on artesian gelato and frozen treats in Cincinnati. We are thrilled to be in such good company! Thank you Gina Weathersby and Ilene Ross for including us!

What's more, out of all those amazing photos, our raspberry sorbet was picked for the cover! You humble us...

1 Night, 12 Kitchens wrap-up

Oh man, we love doing this gig. 1 Night, 12 Kitchens is a fundraiser to support scholarships for the Midwest Culinary Institute. It's incredible to be in the company of Cincinnati's best chefs in the incredible kitchens if the MCI. The energy is so positive and as you can imagine, the food is unbelievably delicious. Madisono's offered bite-sized s'mores with our giandouja (hazelnut and chocolate) gelato, Grateful Grahams graham crackers and made-from-scratch marshmallow perfectly toasted golden brown with a kitchen torch.

This year, we took let our MCI student assistant Valerie (pictured above) take charge of our table and went around to taste some of the incredible food creations. I was only disappointed that my stomach couldn't hold anything more in it by the end of the night. We'll see you there next year!

Strawberry Lemonade sorbet

That's Noah making our seasonal flavor Strawberry Lemonade in the shop yesterday. Of course real strawberries and lots of lemon zest are on the ingredient list to make for that beautifully sweet tart flavor.

We hear that it tastes especially good with some white rum or perhaps in that daiquiri you are now planning on making for your Friday happy hour. We don't blame you if you want to start that party early now that you know what to serve. It's currently available at Kramer's Market, College Hill Coffee, Pipkins, Madison's at Findlay Market, Keegan's Seafood and Sugar Plum. If you don't see it in your usual Madisono's locations, don't hesitate to ask for it. Now let's get this party started!

Madisono's Gelato at the zoo tonight!

The wildly popular "Wild about Wine" event at the zoo tonight is sold out! We're excited to share our gelato and sorbet with everyone who was able to grab some tickets. If you've not experienced these events at the zoo, you may want to check them out. Each one is well planned, full of delicious food and drinks, and seriously, who doesn't love the zoo?

Tonight we'll be offering scoops of our delicious gelato and sorbet, flavors to be determined when we get through the boatload of orders we were slammed with on Monday. Whew!

Make sure you stop by and say hello if you're there tonight.

Gelato Vs. Ice Cream

Many people ask what the difference between gelato and ice cream is, so we thought we'd share this little bit of information to shed some light on the subject we care so deeply about

It should be said that for as much as we LOVE gelato, we also enjoy some ice cream too. It's all good! This nice comparison was gathered from the The World of Ice Cream website.

"

GELATO = less fat + no air added = rich cremier taste

Premium ice creams are made with fresh cream (not condensed or powdered milk), real eggs, and natural flavorings. Quality ingredients aside, lesser ice creams also have more air whipped in. As much as half the carton may be air, in fact. More air--or "overrun"--means softer ice cream that scoops more easily and melts more quickly. Premium ice creams have very little air added; gelato has no air added at all. (There’s a minimal amount of air that's incorporated naturally because of the churning process.)

Gelato and some premium ice creams are so dense that they require a slightly higher serving temperature, a perfect point where your scoop is firm but not hard and not so soft that it melts immediately. Gelato recipes usually include more egg yolks, more milk and less cream. It actually has less fat than regular ice cream, but gelato's low overrun makes for an extremely dense, rich and creamy treat.

Beautiful gelato photo from Almare Gelato.

Dietary restrictions and allergies? Try sorbet!

There is so much to worry about these days when entertaining guests. We have a friend who is lactose intolerant, another who developed Celiac's disease and can't have gluten, and yet another friend who is allergic to eggs, another who has a nut allergy. It might seem daunting to come up with a dessert to please all of your special food needs, but it's not.

Try some Madisono's sorbet and everyone will be safe and their taste buds happy. Sorbets are all about fruit. With no milk, cream or eggs, they depend only on sugar, lemon juice and fresh fruit for flavor. Elegantly simple and refreshingly tart, sorbets were the rage during Victorian years, when they were served as palate cleansers between rich, heavy courses. The Italian sorbetto, is more intense in flavor and generally has more fruit and less water, resulting in a softer, less icy texture.

Madisono's grapefruit sorbet is lively and refreshing, the red raspberry sorbet has intense red color that looks a stunning in a bowl as it tastes, and the lemon basil sorbet continues to be one of our best sellers for it's unique fresh citrus flavor. Serve any of these with some fresh fruit and you have a healthy and delicious dessert to delight all your guests!