In recent years, Czechs have been increasingly attracted to the deliciousness of Italian ice cream. Although sensitive to climatic variations, the ice cream market has been stable for twenty years. Among the industrial ice creams, the classic Socialist era “sticks” are more appreciated than the best known foreign brands
Appreciated all over the world, ice cream is the dessert per excellence and is meant to be enjoyed particularly in the summer period. Czechs are no exception. Of course, we cannot say that the local market has reached astonishing sales figures, but consumption is on average in line with other European countries. Decreasing slightly if compared to the 4.8 litres per capita in 2010, in 2014 Czechs consumed 3 litres compared to the 10 litres consumed by Scandinavians, who top the list, with a total of 34 million litres. 38% consists of soft ice cream or in cups and the rest is made up of industrial ice cream. Whilst in Italy the demand is all year round, Czech producers are subject to climate changes, thus the four summer months are quite important. In 2013, in fact, the snowfall in April and the floods in May caused a drop of about one million litres.
“Consumption in the Czech Republic is lower than that of other Countries in which I worked”, says Moreno Faganello, owner of the Gelati Eis Caffè, in the shopping centre of Arkády Pankrác in Prague. After his experience in Germany and Austria, in 2005 he opened an ice cream shop in Brno, and three years later, one in the capital. In Czech gastronomy, artisan production “is slowly taking hold and has gained a certain interest by customers only in the last few years”.
Cold desserts became widespread in Czechoslovakia in the early twentieth century, when Italian artisans, mostly from the Veneto area of Longarone and Val di Zoldo, passed on their art to Central Europe. It is in Longarone, in fact, that the International Ice Cream Exhibition has taken place since 1959. The homeland of the famous “semifreddo” is Italy, though its history dates back even to 3,000 BC in China. Three are the fellow countrymen to be cited: Bernardo Buontalenti, who created the first ice cream in the sixteenth century, flavoured with citrus fruit and Procopio de’ Coltelli, who made it famous throughout Europe by opening the Café Procope in Paris in 1686, a meeting place for intellectuals and writers, such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Balzac, Hugo, Oscar Wilde and then Italo Marchioni, who invented the waffle cone in 1903.
Nowadays, the increase in popularity is also due to the European Day of Artisan ice cream. Established in 2008 by the European Parliament, and the only recurrence dedicated to a single food item, this year it was held in Prague, thanks to the initiative of Moreno Faganello. Expert ice cream makers came specifically from Belluno to propose their special recipes, created by means of a 1920 machine.
If artisan production in the 1960’s had been severely shaken by the success of industrial ice cream, the major obstacle today is represented by semi-manufactured production. There are some who only buy the prepared product and create the traditional base with milk, cream and sugar, while others sell products that are just like semi-industrial ones. It is also true that “over time, customers are paying more attention and are able to distinguish between the many surrogates and original artisan products”, says Faganello, especially abroad, where it is not unusual to come across a shop sign with “real Italian ice cream” written on it, but the only Italian aspect is its name.
Each country has its own tastes and habits. “The Czech customer is similar to a German customer”, he explains, “he prefers to consume it while sitting at a table rather than while he is walking – as they otherwise tend to do in Italy – and consider it as a sort of meal replacement”, rather than just a whim to cool off in the afternoon or early evening. There is also a tendency to choose less sweet types and the real favourites are: vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. “These make up 80% of sales, but I must say that customers appreciate the novelty tastes as well and try them at least once”. Faganello’s proposals are really varied: mango and ginger sell very well, but there are also unusual tastes, such as beer or parmesan. An anonymous person wrote on the forum: “I would certainly recommend a visit. Such a wide range of choice is difficult to find”.
“Moravians and Bohemians seem to differ”, points out the Italian ice cream maker “the first are traditionalists, while those from Prague – more used to having contacts with tourists – tend to be more open to innovation”.
Worthy of notice, in the historical centre, are the ice cream shops Angelato and Světozor. The latter is famous for its soft ice cream called točená zmrzlina, in Czech. The strawberry-banana or vanilla-chocolate version has been a favourite with Prague generations, who are even willing to queue just to be able to get an ice cream cone. The bakery, in the homonymous gallery, that leads into Wenceslas Square, is part of the Hájek a Boušová company, that in the 1990s was the third largest producer of ice cream in the Czech Republic. In the same square, there was also Ovocenka, that specialized in local fruit desserts and that was attended by artists from the Semafor theatre. The pastry-chef Rudolf Linka used to sell banana ice cream there, a world rarity that still has its enthusiasts. “A popular delicacy in that fruit oasis was Banana with chocolate and cream”, Renata recounts nostalgically her high school years.
Though not so common in Italy, soft ice cream is coming back into fashion thanks to the launch of the soft Algida cones. Czech consumers appreciate it for its creaminess and lightness and two local artists have reproduced its form in the prize that inaugurates the summer film School of Uherské Hradiště. Last year, British film director Peter Greenaway was the first to receive a 32cm porcelain cone.
As for industrial ice creams, the tastes available are the same. Strawberries make up the main ingredient of the two most loved and sold sticks, Míša and Mrož, both made with fruit and quark cheese (tvaroh in Czech), with chocolate coating. Although companies launch new products every season, they are not able to undermine the fame of these two products with which Algida and Prima contend a significant slice of the market. The large concentration of fruit and low calorie content confirm that Czech consumers prefer simple ice creams, without many aromatic flavours and that is small in size, because the one kilo tubs and home consumption are limited. According to research data by AC Nielsen, the most sold product is Míša, with a market share of 13%, in second place the classic Mrož (that with different flavours still reaches 16%) and in third position, the Algida Twister green. A local phenomenon is Mrož, which is trying to impose itself abroad, but the combination of tvaroh and fruit is not found anywhere else and is not so appreciated. Meanwhile, Míša is trying to make its way into Slovakia and even though it has an almost unchanged recipe, it has been in production since 1962, when at the Prague Laktos of Vysočany dairy they had the idea of freezing some quark with cream and sugar.
Even if the industrial ice cream market has been more or less stable for twenty years, it is not exempt from changes. On the one hand, it involved changes in production and the adoption of surrogates is now standard practice, with the use of vegetable oils to replace cream. On the other hand, customers want quality ingredients, as with artisan ice cream, and which it is worth paying a few extra crowns.
Nevertheless, Czechs have not given up eating local brands, including the socialist era ice creams – Míša, Ledňáček, Ruská zmrzlina and Eskymo – and competition from foreign products, such as Magnum and Carte d’Or has not outperformed them. For some, the main success is determined by the price, which is lower compared to imported products; for nostalgic customers, who used to buy them in the 1980s, it is due to the tastes of their childhood.
Prima is the largest producer of Ruská zmrzlina, the Russian ice cream. Produced in the Soviet Union since the 1930s, it used to be exported to countries in the Western bloc and distributed to retailers in socialist Czechoslovakia. Nutritious and sweet with cream between two wafers, it was among the best and most competitive in price. Today it holds on to its name, but it is made in the Czech Republic. Actually, the situation has been reversed and from Moravia many trucks depart for Moscow, the Baltic countries, Germany and, since 2014, even to the United States.
Whether it is artisan-made, imported or locally produced, ice cream has satisfied everybody’s palate for centuries, confirming itself as an irremissible food item that is destined to occupy an important place in the market for a very long time to come.
by Sabrina Salomoni
