Last updated on March 13, 2023
Ciao Bella Sea Salt Caramel Gelato Squares Review
I’ve written about Ciao Bella’s tart yet tasty Key Lime Pie ice cream sandwiches before, so I was excited to try these Sea Salt Caramel ones. Quick summary: Ciao Bella makes very good ice cream sandwiches!
But I have a couple of questions, first. Why is this called gelato, instead of ice cream? Is it just a fancypants word for an Italian ice cream brand that calls itself Ciao Bella? Or is it something to do with ingredients?
And what’s with the ton of sea salt in so many desserts recently? Will we all be more thirsty in the future?
What’s the difference between gelato and ice cream?
Turns out someone else wondered, and thekitchn.com answered.
Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream. It starts out with a similar custard base as ice cream, but has a higher proportion of milk and a lower proportion of cream and eggs (or no eggs at all). It is churned at a much slower rate…
They add that it’s softer than ice cream, less fat, and has a more intense taste.
Plopped in between 2 dark chocolate wafers, also rather “intense”, it’s hard to discern all that, but I’l take it anyway.
And why salt?
What’s the secret ingredient that only table salt has?
I looked up sea salt to compare it with table salt, and the first result is the Mayo Clinic! Do some people believe the purpose of using sea salt is actually for health reasons, and not popular trends and fad foods? :)\ Mind-boggling. The clinic goes on to say table salt is from mines, and sea salt is from the ocean. (But I’m pretty sure the underground mines are originally from the ocean, too. So…Salt is from the salty ocean. Good to know.)
Most table salt also has added iodine, an essential nutrient that helps maintain a healthy thyroid.
But here it gets interesting. So table salt is healthier than sea salt! The NYTimes food blog says almost the same thing. They write about how important iodine, or iodide is to your thyroid. (ie, losing weight!)
All this being said, I don’t think dairies and bakeries and confectioners are thinking health when they throw sea salt into the ingredients of all these desserts. Nor am I. And yawn, it’s not so new anymore. Check out how many of my reviews here have the word salt in the title!
Anyway, Ciao Bella describes the ice cream bars as “sweet and salty and decadent.” The wafers in the sandwich part are chocolate, but don’t treat them like graham crackers, just slapped on! The ice cream/gelato has swirls of caramel and chocolate in caramel colored ice cream. As with the Key Lime Pie, they are very good at composing the balance of dry cookie wafer, and creamy ice cream to make a bite that doesn’t leave you either thirsty or hungry at the end. That’s tricky to do! 
The ice cream is just slightly complex tasting with the different swirls in it – very interesting. Definitely recommended.
What others are saying about Ciao Bella Sea Salt Caramel Gelato Squares
The So Good blog is very positive, but points out that the ice cream square has a lot of calories. (Calories in ice cream? I’m shocked! ) But a commenter there says it’s low-calorie. What’s an eater to think? The Ice Cream Informant gives it an A.
Ingredients
Milk, cream, organic cane sugar, tapioca syrup, nonfat dry milk. Just like the definition of gelato: more milk than cream.
Calories 250
Fat 11g
Cholesterol 25mg
Protein 4g
Last Bite:
Yes. But not in that many stores now. Instacart sells it. Amazon is out of it! They have 9 other flavors of Ciao Bella gelato, though. And look, they have their own brand of cookbook to make your own.
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