Crema Reggina: Reggio Calabria's Pink Rum Gelato

You know those stories that your family tells relentlessly at every family gathering? You know… the ones you know every word to? Well, I certainly do. One of those is my late grandfather’s story about chasing a girl he had a huge crush on called “banana head.” Don’t ask. Growing up in Steelton, Pennsylvania, my grandfather was a king in his kingdom. He would be out at all hours (except for family dinner of course), riding his bike and chasing girls. I’ll spare you from the whole story! But, I often wonder what stories my grandfather’s family told him growing up.

My grandfathers’ family is from Reggio Calabria, the largest city in the region. I don’t know many of their stories as many of them are no longer with us. But I do know that they came from poverty, living in caves outside of the city proper, eventually working their way up into tailors and seamstresses. Much more than that I don’t have. I just have snippets of stories from my grandmother and my aunts… just shadows on the wall of my ancestor’s lives. I get emotional thinking about all of the missed opportunities I had to ask them about what their lives in Italy and as an young American immigrants.

In choosing a recipe from Calabria, I felt a big pressure to choose the “right” recipe. One that represents the region’s most important dishes, but also one that I’d be happy to make over and over again to feel connected to my ancestor’s homeland. And that’s where Crema Reggina comes in!

Crema Reggina is a Calabrian ice cream recipe hailing from my family’s very own city, Reggio Calabria. Created by a complete accident in the 1950’s, this rum laced, candied fruit and chocolate studded treat quickly became a favorite amongst Calabrians… thanks to its bright, bubblegum pink color!

The story goes that local pastry chef and gelatiere Pepé Caridi is to thank for this summertime favorite treat. After following a recipe for a custard filled pastry, Pepé realized he had absolutely no flour to finish the dish. Instead of giving up, he accidentally tossed in a hefty amount of rum! Which makes me wonder… what the heck was Pepé doing in the kitchen to make this mistake!?

After one taste, Pepé realized he was on to something! Originally, his dessert is filled with carob seeds (instead of chopped chocolate) and candied fruits… but I happen to be a total chocoholic and think the sweeter option is the way to go with this one!

Calabria’s & Its Delicacies

The toe of Italy’s boot, surrounded by hundreds of miles of crystal clear coastlines, mountains and national parks, lush hills dotted with oranges and lemon trees… you would like a place like Calabria would be on every tourist’s bucket list. It turns out, Calabria is actually one of the least visited regions in all of Italy. A total shame if you ask me. And yet, even I haven’t been there yet! (But you better believe I will eventually!)

As one of the poorest regions in Italy, Calabria has been hit hard with regular earthquakes and disrupted local transportations due to their lack of infrastructure. That said, in August, Calabria’s beaches are flooded with tourists and Italians alike, all soaking up the turquoise waters of the ocean and savoring the hot, delicious sun.

Calabria’s summers are glorious… so obviously ice cream is a must in the hotter temps! Luckily, the region has an incredible love and devotion to gelato!

The region is also one of the best examples of cucina povera. Known for its Chili peppers, eggplant, cherry red tomatoes, Tropea onions, citrus, pitta bread are just the start of what to seek out for your meals in Calabria. Here are just some of the dishes on my bucket list when I visit Calabria in the future:

Pitta - bread dough assembled similarly to a calzone, stuffed with anything, but most popularly meat, cheese and veggies.
Nduja - A must! A spicy, spreadable salumi made of minced pork fat and meat, chillies, salt and red peppers.
Licurdia - A soup that can include any seasonal veggie, but must include the region’s well loved famous Tropea onions and chilli peppers.
Polpette di melenzane - Meatballs made with aubergines, pecorino and stale bread.
Ripiene - Hollowed out eggplant, filled with pecorino, bread, eggs, garlic and parsley, covered with tomato passata and baked.

My late grandfather, great uncles and my mother.

When making this straight forward recipe, I can’t help but think about the summer nights I would spent both at home with my Italian relatives in Pennsylvania and those I spent in Italy with Luke. They feel like two separate worlds, two separate lives… but connected by these little invisible threads of ancestry and deep memory.

Summer, ice cream and family. Is there anything better? I’ll be making Crema Reggina for every summer from here forward to celebrate that.

Crema Reggina

Region: Calabria

Process:

Whisk together your egg yolks with about 2 tablespoons of sugar until smooth. Then in the same bowl, gently stir in your rum, cornflour and vanilla extract.
In a saucepan over low heat, combine your cream, milk and remaining sugar. Once this mixture reaches a light simmer, toss in your egg mixture.
Cook this mixture for a few minutes. Be sure to continuously stir until the mixture so not to burn.
Once it’s thickened, remove the mixture from the heat and stir in your red food dye. Eyeball until the cream mixture is the perfect shade of bubble gum pink!
Let the mixture cool down to room temperature, and then pop it in the refrigerate for about an hour.
Pour your cream in a pre-chilled ice cream maker. Churn the mixture until ice cream becomes very thick… but not quite frozen.
Add your roughly chopped chocolate and candied fruit and churn for a few more minutes until everything is perfectly combined.
Transfer the ice cream to a container and freeze it until its solidified.
Scoop and serve!