Local Gelato Maker Brings Secrets From Italy

Gelato Massimo partners with Sigona’s Farmers Market and local farmers to make taste sensations

Massimo and John Nava at the Gelato Massimo factory in Watsonville, Calif.

By Carmelo Sigona

If you’ve been a Sigona’s Preferred Customer for a while now, you’ve likely used your coupon for a pint of Gelato Massimo paired with another delectable treat. The gelato is delicious, isn’t it? As you may know, Massimo Caporale, Watsonville-based creator of authentic Italian-style gelato, has been selling his product at Sigona’s for a number of years now – in fact, we were one of the first to carry his gelato!

Blenheim apricots re-hydrating before they're blended into a jam-like substance and added to the gelato base.

Massimo and Nava talk about local strawberries used in the strawberry gelato.

To help ensure flavor consistency, Massimo chooses only the best ingredients. To stay true to the authentic Italian-gelato style, some of his base ingredients, including essences and flavors such as lemon, hazelnut, coffee and mango paste are straight from Italy, but most of the fruits are sourced from local farmers. This is exactly where Sigona’s Farmers Market comes into play.

As a result of our relationships with small, local farmers, producers and Massimo himself, we have partnered with Massimo to develop new flavors made exclusively for Sigona’s – outstanding local, fresh flavors that are created with Sigona’s own produce.

John Nava, our Stanford store manager/specialty foods buyer, works directly with Massimo, whom he refers to as the “master gelato maker,” to brainstorm new ideas and develop the flavors. This responsibility, which requires many taste tests, is important to – this includes a lot of taste testing, which we’re not opposed to.

“No one else does what we do,” said John Nava. “We were one of the first markets to carry Massimo’s gelato and we’re excited that our partnership has led us to work on together to make and sell exclusive flavors for Sigona’s.”

John and Massimo are working side by side on a couple of new, exclusive flavors, which we’ll unveil later this summer so be sure to keep your eyes open. They’re bound to taste absolutely fantastic!

To see more photos and learn more about the Gelato Massimo operations, click here.