What is gelato?
Gelato surfaced during the Renaissance when alchemist Cosimo Ruggieri created the first gelato flavor at the court of the Medici family in Florence, the fior di latte. The Sicilian Francesco Procopio Cutò made gelato available to the public when he opened Café Le Procope in Paris in 1686. Traditional flavors of gelato include custard, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, hazelnut, pistachio, lemon, raspberry and peach. More modern flavors have developed including pineapple, tiramisu, banana, mango, yogurt, stracciatella, zabajone and amarena.
According to Morano, not all gelato is created equal, however. “In this day and age where artisanal ice cream is everywhere, high-quality ingredients don’t always separate gelato from American ice cream by definition. Gelato, for example, is typically made from milk, cream and a few yolks depending on which flavor is being produced. Sicilian-style gelato is water, cream, some milk and a few yolks. American ice cream, however, is generally equal parts heavy cream, whole milk and a lot of egg yolks.”
What is ice cream?
Though its history spans worldwide and over centuries, ice cream has become an American dessert staple. In fact, 9 percent of American cow’s milk production is dedicated to serving up this frozen treat. And, we can tell a lot about your personality from the ice cream you enjoy—here’s what your favorite ice cream flavor says about you.
What is the difference between gelato and ice cream?
There are three major differences between Italian gelato and American ice cream, according to Morgan Morano, the CEO and founder of Morano Gelato Inc., a small New England-based company that produces authentic Italian gelato.
The first big difference is that gelato is much lower in butterfat than American ice cream. While ice cream has a butterfat content of 14 to 25 percent, gelato fat content ranges from 4 to 9 percent.
The second difference between gelato and ice cream is that gelato is denser than American ice cream. While ice cream can have 50 percent or more air churned into it, gelato has 20 to 30 percent.
The third difference is that gelato is served 10 to 15 degrees warmer than American ice cream. “The warmer temperature reinforces the creamy texture of the gelato and the bold flavors, as they more quickly melt in your mouth,” says Morano.
As for preparation, there is a stark difference between gelato and ice cream equipment. “Gelato is produced in what is typically called a ‘laboratory’ that contains a pasteurizer, batch freezer specific for gelato making, and an immersion blender,” says Morano. Gelato makers use a discontinuous batch freezer at -12°, before putting it out on display. On the other hand, ice cream is produced using continuous freezers, typically conveyed through a freezer tunnel at -40°. To give it a longer shelf life, the product is then held in a cold room until it reaches -18°C.
Curious about your other favorite frozen treats like these? “Sorbet is typically dairy-free and consists of fruit, sugar and water,” says Morano. “Sherbet is mostly water with a little bit of dairy or butterfat; so, very close to a sorbet but with the addition of a bit of dairy to help smooth it out and give it a creamier finish.”
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Alexa Erickson