This Italian Sandwich Is The Best Excuse To Eat Gelato For Breakfast

Italy is well known for its gastronomy and has one of the most popular cuisines eaten globally. From pizza and pasta to gelato and tiramisu, it's hard to get enough of these Italian delights. But, apart from the food itself, Italians are known for their customs and traditions around food which they don't like to break. Whether it's not drinking cappuccino past 11 a.m., eating pasta as a first course, or finishing a meal with a coffee, there's a certain way that things are done. And, in Sicily, eating a gelato sandwich for breakfast is one of them. We're definitely not complaining.

When it's breakfast time in Sicily, brioche con gelato is a commonly found specialty. It consists of a fresh brioche bun, which is split and filled with a few scoops of gelato. The Italian brioche used for these sandwiches is different from typical French brioche, sharing more similarities with a brioche hamburger bun. It is usually only baked for this breakfast dish, and often features a small hat-like bun on top known as a "tuppo," which is traditionally pulled off and eaten first. The brioche is typically warmed up so that the gelato can melt into the bun, forming a wonderful contrast in texture and temperature.

This Italian sandwich is sometimes served with a tiny gelato spoon, which you can use to help scoop out of some of the gelato. Or, you can ditch the spoon and eat this delicacy by biting into it like a sandwich. Your taste buds will appreciate the second method more, as this way you'll get the cold gelato and warm buttery brioche all in one bite. When you're choosing your gelato flavors, it's customary to pick two or three. However, in true Italian fashion, there are rules. Specifically, you don't want to mix fruit flavors with milk flavors. So, ordering pistachio and chocolate is fine, but try substituting lemon for either and you may offend the shopkeeper (Italy takes its gelato very seriously). If you want a truly authentic Sicilian breakfast experience, there is only one type of coffee to drink with brioche con gelato: espresso.

You might be someone who doesn't love the idea of a gelato sandwich for breakfast, but luckily you can get the brioche without gelato, which you can then dip in granita, a sweet semi-frozen drink, or into your warm cappuccino (before 11 a.m., of course!). If visiting this region isn't in your travel plans, it might be time to buy some brioche rolls and gelato for your own DIY taste of Italy.