Italian food researchers have come up with an ice-cream they say will earn an honoured place in the healthy diet Italy is famous for.
"We've produced a perfect, nutritious and balanced mix in line with the Mediterranean diet," Attilio Del Re of Piacenza's Catholic University told the Italian press Monday.
Del Re's team spent six months taking X-rays and conducting electron microscope analyses of various mixes before they achieved their "optimised" gelato.
Of course, it also had to pass the researchers' taste tests.
The resulting mixture contains all the traditional ingredients including milk, eggs and sugar but has been tweaked to lower its fat content while boosting its proteins.
The optimised ice-cream - 30% fat, 15% protein and 55% sugar - is "healthy enough to be eaten every day, in place of a meal," Del Re claimed.
The new gelato's makers have applied for a patent and are already thinking of finding an international distributor.
Traditional ice-cream is a big no-no for diet experts because it is so high in fat.
Some brands' sundaes are so high in calories they have been rated the equivalent of eating a big steak dinner.
