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Gelato Italiano, with two tower-shaped biscuits.

Gelato, or the plural gelati, is Italy's regional variant of ice cream. As such, gelato is made with some of the same ingredients as most other frozen dairy desserts. Milk, cream, various sugars, flavoring including fruit nut purees and air are the main ingredients.

Gelato differs from ice cream in that has a lower fat content, 3.5% for gelato versus 10-12% for ice-cream. Gelato has a a higher sugar content, 24% for gelato verses 14% for ice cream. Non-fat milk is added as a solid. The sugar content in gelato is balanced with the water content precisely to act as an anti-freeze, that is to prevent the product from freezing solid. The type of sugar used sucrose, dextrose and invert-sugar controls the apparent sweetness. Typically, gelato and Italian sorbet contain a stabilizing base. Egg yolks are used in yellow custard based gelato flavors including zabaione and creme caramel.

The mixture for gelato is typically made using a hot process, which includes pasteurization. White base is heated to 85°C. Heating the mix to 90°C is essential for chocolate gelato which is traditionally flavored with cocoa powder. Yellow custard base which contains egg yolks is heated to 65°C. The gelato mix needs to age for several hours after pasteurization is complete in order for the milk proteins to hydrate or bind with the water in the mix. This hydration reduces the size of the ice crystals making a smoother texture in the final product. A non-traditional cold mix process is popular among some gelato makers in the US.

Unlike commercial ice cream in the US which is frozen in a continuous assembly line freezer, gelato is frozen very quickly in single small batches in a batch freezer. The batch freezer incorporates air or overage into the mix as it freezes. Unlike U.S. style ice cream which can have an overage of up to 50%, gelato generally has between 20% and 35% overage. This results in a denser product with more intense flavor than U.S. style ice cream. Because of its higher fat content of U.S. style ice cream, it can be stored in a freezer for months. The delicate ice crystals, fruits and flavors in premium artisan gelato hold their peak flavor and texture for only several days even when it is stored carefully at the proper temperature.

A good test for consumers to judge the quality of the product at any gelato stand is to ask for a taste of lemon sorbet. If it tastes of fresh lemon, chances are the rest of the products in the shop are also made with fresh ingredients.

[edit] History

The History of gelato dates back to frozen desserts served in ancient Rome and Egypt based on ice and snow brought down from mountain tops and preserved below ground.

[edit] Overview

Italiano Gelato, with a fresh waffle biscuit.

Gelato is typically flavored with fresh fruit purees, cocoa and/or nut pastes. If other ingredients such as chocolate flakes, nuts, small confections, cookies, or biscuits are added, they are added after the gelato is frozen. Gelato made with fresh fruit sugar and water and without dairy ingredients is known as sorbet.

Some people have the misconception that the word "gelato" is related to "gelatin" and that the latter is an ingredient. Traditional gelato recipes do not call for it and most gelato is not made with gelatin. In Italian, "gelato" literally means "frozen."

[edit] Traditional flavors

Gelato flavours at Fennochio's in Nice

Fruit sorbetto flavors at Gelateria Naia in San Francisco

• Almond (Mandorla)
• Apple (Mela)
• Apricot (Albicocca)
• Black Cherry and Cream (Amarena)
• Chocolate (Cioccolato)
• Coconut (Cocco)
• Coffee (Caffè)
• Custard (Crema)
• Red Fruits(Frutti di bosco)
• Grapefruit (Pompelmo)
• Hazelnut (Nocciola; or Bacio, the Italiano word for kiss that in this case indicates gelato with chocolate and hazelnuts)
• Lemon (Limone)
• Melon (Melon)
• Mint (Menta)
• Meringue (Meringata)
• Panna cotta (literally "cooked cream")
• Peach (Pesca)
• Pistachio (Pistacchio)
• Raspberry (Lampone)
• Rum Raisin (Malaga)
• Spumoni
• Stracciatella (fior di latte and chocolate chunks)
• Strawberry (Fragola)
• Tiramisù(Mascarpone, cocoa and cofee based gelato)
• Vanilla (Vaniglia)
• Watermelon (Anguria)
• White Chocolate (Cioccolato Bianco)
• Zabaione(Egg and marsala cream)

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gelato

• Frozen custard
• Frozen yogurt
• Ice cream
• Sorbet
• Spaghettieis

[edit] External links

• Gelato Resource
• Gelato Flavors