Submitted by Isabella Ciabattoni on the 2024 Winter HLTH program in Italy…
This was our last week here in Italy! I will truly miss all the things we experienced and learned in this country. During this week, our group went to a cooking class to learn how to make pizza and gelato. The instructor showed us all the ingredients he used to make the dough and then told us the process of waiting for it to rise overnight. This was new information to me and I did not know how long the process was. He then showed us all the fresh toppings to put on a traditional margherita pizza. The toppings were so different from the United States because the basil and tomatoes smelled and tasted so much fresher. It was a very fun experience to be able to stretch our own dough and put the toppings on. I watched my pizza go into the wood-fired oven, which was a very interesting experience.
I watched as the instructor showed us how to combine the ingredients for the gelato. The mixture went into the ice cream machine and created a perfect gelato consistency. Both the pizza and the gelato were so good. I would definitely recommend those who travel to Italy to experience a class like this. (Submitted on January 26, 2024)