The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Connection to past leads to tasty future
MariaMacrina: VVS grad tapping into Italian heritage for new gelato business
A family heritage that heralds back to Italy led Maria Macrina to study abroad there during her college years, and today that dedication to her own past is leading to a tasty future.
A penchant for authentic gelato has now inspired Macrina to open The Cremeria, where she makes her own gelato learned froman Italian master and sells it from a mobile cart that will soon be seen traveling the area. One of her first visits will be a fundraiser for her hometown li- brary coming up this Thursday.
Macrina, the daughter of Sarah and Daryk Macrina of Sherrill, graduated from Vernon-Verona- Sherrill Central School in 2007 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University in 2011. Shortly afterwards, she returned to Rhode Island to work as an industrial designer for G-Form, a small athletic equipment startup. GForm patented a foam molding process they use to create products that are flexible while at the same time impact absorbing, she said.
After four years, however, Macrina decided it was time for a
“shift” in careers. Her fond memories for that Italian gelato treat led her to her latest -- and likely most challenging -- career move, the creation of her own gelato business, The Cremeria.
Her mother’s parents are first-generation Italian immigrants, while her dad’s side has Italian heritage as well, Macrina said. Her early years were filled with Italian traditions like big family meals and lots of cooking, with Macrina herself often in charge of making desserts. She took Italian language classes in college to further the connection to her family’s past.
“I wanted to get back to the raw culture of our heritage,” she said.
In an effort to get even closer to that culture, it was only natural she left to study in Bologna -- the food capital of Italy -- during her junior year of college. While there, she discovered local gelato maker Giacomo Schiavon of La Sorbetteria Castiglione, and enjoyed his tasty treats often several times a day, Macrina admitted.
She didn’t realize at the time just what kind of lifechanging impact those dessert treats would soon have for her.
“It never really occurred to me at the time that this was something I’d want to do,” Macrina reflected.
She had actually thought about opening a dessert shop as a teen, but was hesitant that would be taking a hobby she enjoyed and turning it into a chore. But when she considered what she wanted to do after making sports equipment, the idea came back to her -- as did her love for Schiavon’s gelato. Macrina knewthat fresh, quality gelato would be able to find amarket here in Central New York; she just needed to find out how he made it.
Schiavon himself was more than happy to help her out, she said.
“I reached out and asked if I could come back to learn from him,” Macrina said. “He said yes, and was excited to be able to spread his gelato knowledge.”
Last June, Macrina returned to Bologna for a week of intensive study with Schiavon.
“I took notes until I thought my arm was going to fall off,” she said. “I didn’t want to miss anything.”
She learned how to balance the ingredients to make the perfect gelato and the process of combining them into just the right consistency. Gelato is actually served at a higher temperature than ice cream, she learned, which makes it easier to scoop and less likely to deliver a brain freeze. It also has a lower fat content that ice cream.
Macrina uses both local dairy products and imported ingredients from Italy, she said. Once her formulas were perfected, she set out to brand her gelato, and create The Cremeria, where she will travel with her mobile gelato cart to local events like the Sherrill Farmer’s Market and Summer Concert Series coming up on Tuesday nights.
Her initial flavor recipes will include maple mascarpone, dark chocolate sea salt, pistachio, and lemon and raspberry sorbets. There is also a ricotta blueberry cheesecake flavor in the making, she intimated. Each batch is made fresh using Italian machines, Macrina added.
Her first appearance will be this Thursday, as she helps out the Sherrill-Kenwood Free Library for their Spring for Books at the Sherrill Library fundraiser. Macrina said she will be right outside the library from 1-8 p.m. for the event, and will donate half of her proceeds for the day back to the library.
She will also be at the Whitesboro and Clinton farmer’s markets, and plans to be at the Food Cart Festival coming up in Syracuse, plus the New York State Fair Food Truck Day. There are also some wedding receptions already on her schedule, and she hopes to add more.
Macrina said she has found making gelato hasn’t been a chore at all.
“Who doesn’t want to eat gelato all day?” she asked.
The Spring for Books at the Sherrill Library event is Thursday, May 12 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Sherrill-Kenwood Free Library is located at 543 Sherrill Road in Sherrill.
For more information on Macrina’s gelato and her upcoming schedule, visit: www. thecremeria.com