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PhrasesOrdering GelatoUn tartufo, per favore.
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Un tartufo, per favore.

A tartufo, please.

Pronunciation

TAR-tu-fo — three syllables, stress on first.

When to use it

When ordering the tartufo — an Italian ice cream dessert shaped like a truffle, filled with gelato and coated in chocolate or cocoa.

What it means

The dessert 'tartufo' (not to be confused with the funghi/truffle) is a ball of gelato — usually two flavours — coated in chocolate powder or melted chocolate. It was invented in Pizzo, Calabria, in the 1950s. Do not confuse with the truffle mushroom ('tartufo di terra').

Variations

Un tartufo di Pizzo.

A tartufo from Pizzo.

The original — Pizzo, Calabria, is the birthplace of the gelato tartufo

Il tartufo ha il cuore al cioccolato?

Does the tartufo have a chocolate centre?

Traditional tartufo has a molten chocolate centre — the defining characteristic

Un tartufo bianco e nero.

A black and white tartufo.

Two flavours — vanilla (white) and chocolate (black) — the classic combination

Mini Dialogue

— Un tartufo, per favore. — Il nostro è alla romana — vaniglia e cioccolato con il cuore di amarena. — Perfetto. Mangio qui. — Gliene porto uno bello freddo.

— A tartufo, please. — Ours is Roman-style — vanilla and chocolate with a sour cherry heart. — Perfect. I'll eat it here. — I'll bring you a nice cold one.

Cultural Note

The tartufo was born in 1952 at Bar Dante in Pizzo, Calabria, when the gelatiere improvised a dessert by wrapping gelato around a hazelnut cream centre and rolling it in cocoa powder to resemble the prized black truffle. Pizzo now has an annual Tartufo Week festival celebrating its invention.