Follow our series of amazing St. Clair businesses who make our community so vibrant.
The pandemic may keep us from travelling to places far and wide, but Futura Granita + Gelato gives us a little taste of Italy right in our neighbourhood. Featuring deliciously creamy handmade gelato, cookies, freeze pops and granita, this is place you won’t want to miss.
What is gelato?
For those of you who have never had gelato, it is a popular Italian frozen dessert that is very similar to ice cream. Gelato tends to taste creamier and softer than ice cream, but surprisingly it is lower in fat than other styles of frozen desserts as it is made with a base of 3.25% milk rather than cream. Basically, we’re telling you this is a delicious low-guilt dessert…..or at least low guilt compared to ice cream! So then, if gelato is low guilt, how does it get its super creamy and soft texture? Surprisingly by using less air! famous texture and flavour comes from the fact that it contains 70% less air than other frozen desserts.
This craft of gelato has been learned and perfected by owners Lois Kim and Carlo Diano who both studied at Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna, Italy.
What is granita?
Granita is an ideal sweet frozen treat for anyone – especially if you’re vegan! Originated in Sicily, Italy, this semi-frozen dessert is made from sugar, water, and flavouring. It is akin to sorbet and Italian ice but it has a coarser, more crystalline texture.
At Futura Granita + Gelato, you are treated with a truly authentic Italian granita experience. Their granita contains no processed ingredients and no stabilizers. While the frozen sweet shop prides itself on using all natural flavours, you won’t find typical copycat Italian flavours such as strawberry. Rather, they prefer to put twists on classical flavours. We highly recommend cinnamon plum, coconut lime and masala chai.
Quality is of the utmost importance at Futura Granita + Gelato. When you take a bite out of your dessert, you’ll be able to taste the love and care that went into it. Kim and Diano put so much thought and attention into their dessert crafting that they even use two freezers to store their granita and gelato so that they can be scooped and consumed at the ideal temperature.
It’s quite possible you’ll become addicted to their gelato. If you do, you can follow in our footsteps and take it home with you! They sell pints of gelato for $11.
We’ll also let you in on a little secret. Their cookies are phenomenal – in fact, if you try them they might taste familiar to you! That’s because Futura Granita + Gelato is not the only labour of love Kim and Diano have. They are also the owners of the famous cookie company Cookie Friday.
Don’t take our word for it, give them a try for yourself! They’re located at 964 St. Clair Avenue West and open Thursday to Sunday from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Check out their Instagram for weekly flavours and updates to their menu.
We hope to bump into you there!