I had it easy in the States. I could eat peanuts, which are—for those incredulous and lucky non-allergic types—actually legumes. This meant handfuls of honey-roasted peanuts, peanut butter and chocolate ice cream, all varieties of Reese’s candy, and the occasional Cracker Jack box. So stale, yet so tasty. All of the allergy labels warned about peanut traces, and I was in the clear… and also very chubby. Just ask anyone who know me during the Clinton years.
Italy on the other hand, is a total hotbed for nut allergy attacks. It’s a war zone over here and there’s no playing the victim. I wouldn’t call Italians insensitive to the issue of food allergies, it’s more like genuine, well-intentioned ignorance. I used to ask the lady at the coffee bar if the cornetto al ciocolato (chocolate-filled croissant) was Nutella (the omnipresent spread, akin to American peanut butter, worshipped with a zeal that the Vatican would kill for).
“Oh no! It’s just chocolate,” She would say, which undoubtedly meant some other brand of hazelnut and chocolate spread, the Dominic’s brand as opposed to Skippy.
I used to fall for it too. The wishful glutton inside me believed her on a number of occasions, and another day was ruined for one wrong bite.
In fact, chocolate was one of the first things I had to scratch off my list. No matter how dark (fondente) the bar claims to be, it will nearly always be laced with hazelnuts. Just face it. This mean that desserts made with melted chocolate, chocolate chips, or chocolate shavings will start your tongue tingling, throat itching, or worse.
Another one to watch out for is gelato. Too many times have I carefully selected my flavors only to feel that telltale tingle after the first bite of seemingly safe coffee or crème caramel. Nocciola, or hazelnut, and the nation’s beloved favorite flavor, is the same color. Pistachio is fairly obvious for its green color, whereas almond (mandorla) and walnut (noci) show up in creamy flavors where not always specified.
Add the dripping and dipping that goes on at busy ice cream stands, and just about everything is off limits. So you thought the fruity flavors were safe…well, not if the person before you asked for hazelnut, rum almond and strawberry, and they used the same scoop.
Through a careful and painful process of elimination I have managed to come up with a few gelaterias that to this day are still allergy proof.
Gelateria San Crispino
Via Acaia, 56
Via della Panetteria, 42
Fiumicino Airport Terminal A
The guidebooks love to love this place for the stoic and white-gloved servers and sterile environment. The pale green and white color palette and covered silver canisters for each flavor (no dripping!) does scream clean, and that’s why I love it! There’s none of that awkward asking to scoop your spoonful from the untouched end of the vanilla to avoid traces of neon green pistachio. They never scoop more than two inches away from the dreaded drippings. Another point in San Crispino’s favor is that most of the liqueur creams are nut free.
Gelateria Fata Morgana
Via Lago di Lesina, 9.
Via Ostiense, 36.
When Maria Agnese Spagnolo discovered an allergy of her own, gluten, she founded a gelateria to soothe her cravings for all of the desserts she would otherwise have to live without. What began with chocolate, cheesecake, tiramisu, and of course the nut-filled flavors, gave way to out-of-this-world combos like Kentucky Chocolate (tobacco-scented intense dark chocolate), Pereg (poppy seeds and cream), Venere (rose petal–infused vanilla cream and wild black rice), or Afrodite (celery and lime).
The gluten-free preparation forbids any artificial flavors or colors, which means that everything tastes exactly like it does in nature, a rarity that doesn’t appeal to everyone, but definitely appeals to me.
Every scoop gets a fresh spoon, and while Maria never considered nut allergies, she did consider lactose intolerance and diabetes with diary and sugar free flavors, that she is careful not to mix.
A few more desserts to steer clear of:
1. Torta della Nonna looks like a simple ricotta tart, but it’s packed with pine nuts.
2. Caprese cake is made with almond flour.
3. The little ring-shaped cookies they bring with dessert wine have chopped nuts inside most of the time.
4. Anything that looks like creamy chocolate icing is almost always Nutella.
5. Anything colorful and Sicilian has almonds somewhere.
On the other hand, Pastiera Napolitana, which looks jammed with walnuts is actually made with grain—a delightfully crunchy nut-like experience (or so I imagine it to be).
Check back with me later for more on savory nut-free tips. Just for the record, pesto is not always made with nuts. Surprise! Sometimes it's just finely chopped arugula.
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2 comments:
Thank you for posting this information. We are going to Italy in late June and our youngest is highly allergic to peanuts so we are avoiding ALL nuts.
Thanks so much - this was very helpful. We're going to Italy in September and I'm a bit paranoid about my tree nut allergy.
Do they commonly use tree nuts outside of dessert items? Will pizzas and pastas often be covered in pine nuts and pesto?
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