One of my first vegan discoveries in Italy was the Algida brand “Cornetto.” This pre-packaged gelato alla soia with streaks of fudge and crushed nuts was the first demonstration of a contemporary version of a traditional Italian specialty to me in 2017.

There is also another specialty of the same name. This cornetto looks nearly identical to a cornucopia! This “little horn” is a pastry that can be filled with Nutella or marmalade. It is apparently difficult to make and eat (due to its flaky texture) but worth every bite!

My Roman friend had sent me a photograph of a vegan cornetto that she had tried and thought that I should try, too! Since I was in the neighborhood, we had breakfast together and I finally had a bite of the cornetto. For €1.00 I had a perfectly-made cornetto without any “stuffing.” It was just sweet enough to be considered a breakfast must-have yet filling enough to be considered a hearty brunch to last you until the early afternoon.

If you were to walk around the streets of Rome in the morning and peek into pastry shops, you would find cornetti all over the place! It is typically eaten in the morning with a cup of coffee. While the coffee and donuts I mentioned in the last blog post is a tourist favorite, coffee and cornetti is a local – and an Italian, in general – favorite.

So, if you were to walk around the streets of Rome in the morning and by chance peek into pastry shops, step inside one and order “un caffè e un cornetto, per favore.” After all, when in Rome, do as the Romans do!