Affogato and memories

Category: Recipes, Desserts  |  Post by: Andrea Wong
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Affogato - vanilla ice cream and coffee :: So D'lish. New Zealand's food blog website

Do you have certain tastes and smells that transport you back to a certain time or place?

I certainly do, some of mine include things like:

  • The smell of Coppertone or coconut oil reminds me of summer as a kid
  • The feeling of cold and the smell of a gas stove reminds me of my Nana's house
  • The unusual mix of coffee, car exhaust fumes and dog pooh remind me of France (!!)
  • The smell of a nice strong espresso reminds me of Italy.

I love it how just catching a whiff of these smells can take you back – you see memories play back in your mind, remember how you felt at the time. With the smell coconut oil, I can even remember the feeling of the summer sun on my skin (and it feels nice, considering it's rainy and cold outside right now). I'm a wee girl and am playing at the beach during summer. On the sand is the technicoloured beach blanket that my family used and chilly bins and beach towels are scattered around. That is summer.

San Gimignano

The smell of coffee, however is a different time and place. Fast-forward 15-20 years and we are in Italy. Take your pick of city or village. It's first thing in the morning and I'm on the hunt for my morning coffee. I could be with any of my travelling partners, but they're not really prominent as I am on my single-minded mission. I sleep-walk my way into a bar (which is more like a basic cafe) and order "un espresso, per favore". Standing at the bar whilst waiting for my coffee, I can smell coffee starting to surround me. It's comforting. My coffee arrives and I sip it quickly and leave "grazie mille!" – I'm finally awake.

Sometimes and only sometimes, does my morning espresso transport me back to Italy. Maybe it's the way that I prepare it, or my state of mind at the time. But I'm glad that it only happens sometimes, because it's nice for that memory to sneak up on you again. When I made an affogato the other day, I had that feeling of Italy... mmm yum, coffee and ice cream.

I love it when a dish is so simple but it's still delicious because of the quality of ingredients that you use. This is such a simple italian dessert but I love it. For me, it would have to be an after lunch treat, as I can't have coffee from about 5pm onwards, or else I won't be able to sleep and I start having crazy semi-awake dreams.

I can't stress any more, that for this dish you should use the best ice cream that you can find and your favourite coffee. Because that is all that this dish contains - coffee and ice cream - it is essential that these two ingredients are the best-tasting that you can afford.

Kohu Road vanilla ice cream was used for this recipe, it is deliciously creamy and really does feel luxurious. I've also tried their golden syrup flavour, which I think would go well in an affogato too. The coffee that I used is my current blend: Kokako Organic.

How to make an affogato - vanilla ice cream and coffee :: So D'lish. New Zealand's food blog website

Affogato

Ingredients

1 shot of strong espresso (50ml)
1 scoop of good-quality vanilla ice cream

Directions
  1. Make a shot of espresso or if using a plunger, make a small amount at double your normal strength
  2. Put a scoop of ice cream in a cup or small bowl
  3. Pour the coffee over the ice cream.
Enjoy immediately!


Affogato - vanilla ice cream and coffee :: So D'lish. New Zealand's food blog website
What are your favourite food smell memories? I'd love to hear them.

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  • 30/09/2010 1:25 a.m.
    Rob

    I just tried this with a home-made hokey pokey ice-cream : GREAT!!
  • 27/08/2010 8:57 p.m.
    ambury7

    fresh peas being shelled remind me of my Nana and Poppa we would sit around as kids shelling them at the garden table, lemon verbena and ripe grapes take me back to their potting sheds which we made huts in, rice pudding and nutmeg my maternal Nana... oh so many food and garden memories! I wonder what my children will remember?
  • 27/08/2010 7:09 p.m.
    hungryandfrozen

    Yes - certain smells and fragrances *definitely* take me back to places.

    I loooove affogato, and you're right - because it's so simple the ingredients just have to be good quality. One of my favourite puddings, even though I hardly ever have it...will have to look up this Kokao Organic coffee!
  • 27/08/2010 6:58 p.m.
    vanessa grahame

    I still remember my very first affogato, from Est Est Est on George Street in Edinburgh. Now this is what desserts are all about, I thought. How could you improve on that? Well Affogato Correto (with any liqueur you like - my fav is limoncello).
    love the photos, oh damn it, now I want one.....
  • 27/08/2010 11:30 a.m.
    Melinda

    I have the Coppertone kid beach smell memory too! Some strong memories for me include: the smell & sound of pine trees at the back of my Nana's house in Canterbury, every time I eat pain au chocalat I think of the time I was in Paris at springtime, drinking Veuve takes me right back to my wedding day, when I hear Red Hot Chilli Peppers I think of driving through northern Italy, the smell of Clarins hand cream reminds me of my summer in Europe.....I could go on and on - such powerful stuff ;) Great blog!