At Delini Gelato, a new shop in West Roxbury, a flavor churned with homemade baklava is scented with rose oil. Pistachio gelato gets its intensity from high quality nuts roasted at the store. The lavender flavor is a striking blue because it’s blended with butterfly pea flower, a blossom native to tropical Asia. The lavender is grown on a Cape Cod farm. Owner Viki Petkova opened the shop in June with her husband, Nikolay, despite the pandemic. She had the sense that her artisanal creations would be an uplifting addition to the community and forged ahead. Her intuition was right. Customers keep arriving and appreciate that Petkova makes everything from scratch, without pre-made mixes or artificial colorants or flavorings, using organic sugar, eggs, and dairy and other ingredients from local farms. She studied gelato making in Europe, spending time in Italy learning from prominent artisan gelato makers and pastry chefs. The store offers a dozen choices churned in small batches that change daily ($14.95 for about 1¼ pint). Don’t start pining for the maple gelato Petkova churns with syrup from Baird, a family farm in Vermont. Or the mango lassi made with her homemade yogurt. “Every time customers come, they get a surprise,” she says. “There are never the same flavors.” But you can be assured they are all luscious. The store-made crunchy, bronzed cones add to the pleasure. Petkova came from Bulgaria to the United States for her husband’s work. She says, “I grew up on a farm where we raised everything, so I was always used to fresh ingredients.” 5 Bellevue St., West Roxbury, delinigelato.com.
ANN TRIEGER KURLAND