Semifreddo al Mandarino (Italian Mandarin Semifreddo) A mandarin semifreddo lives or dies on its perfume, and the perfume does not come from the juice. It comes from the zest, and the zest only gives it up to fat. That single fact decides how this dessert is built: the peel goes into hot cream, stays there while the cream cools, and is then strained out. What is left is a cream that smells of mandarin all the way through, and keeps smelling of it after a week in the freezer.

Sorbetto al Mandarino (Italian Mandarin Sorbet) Sorbetto al mandarino is the most fragrant of the Italian citrus sorbets and the easiest one to ruin. Mandarin juice is sweeter and far less acidic than orange or lemon, so on its own it freezes into something soft and vaguely sweet that could be almost any fruit. Everything that makes a mandarin smell like a mandarin sits in the skin, not in the glass, and this recipe is built around getting it out without cooking it. Yield: 6