Floral gelato embodies this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show theme

Gran Caffe L'Aquila gelato
Photo credit Hadas Kuznits/KYW Newsradio

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PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In preparation for the Philadelphia Flower Show, you can give your taste buds a hint of springtime with a new efflorescent gelato in Center City.  

Gran Caffe L'Aquila on Chestnut Street partakes in some floral fun each year with a flower-themed flavor, and Ricardo Longo, wine and culinary director, says his customers are looking forward to it.

“This year it's really exciting because it is a Riviera theme, so it's an Italian theme so for us — this is amazing. We've been waiting for this!" he enthused.

The limited-edition flavor is called kinoto, which features three ingredients all from Italy:

"We have white chocolate from the Tuscan Riviera. We have Riviera (Ligure olive oil) from Liguria on the Italian Riviera. And then we have the kinoto flower, which is basically a citrus flower, which is really an icon of the Italian Riviera," he said.

That's what gives the gelato a burst of orange essence.

"The kinoto is an orange flower. It has a slight bitter flavor to it," Longo explained.

Italian gelato champion Stefano Biasini loves to create the annual flower flavors because it allows people to experience the Flower Show through another sense.

"The great idea for me is that people can go and see the show, but you can taste the flower here," he said.

For more on the specific ingredients and how Biasini uses flowers to make gelato, listen to the KYW Newsradio original podcast What’s Cooking on the RADIO.COM app.