Gelato has to be “palatable” which means semi-hard. The best body for gelato is consistent, homogeneous, harmonious and looks even. It should not have a consistency that is too watery, gelatinous or floury. This corresponds to the “texture” of the product sold to consumers.
For a quality gelato, you want one with a high proportion of natural ingredients, and that means no (or very little) added colouring. "A quality gelato will never have very vibrant colours, but natural ones," explains gelataio Domenico Maggiore.
If you're a fan of gelato, you know that it has a denser and richer texture, and a milkier taste than ice cream. This is because its authentic ingredients contain more milk and less cream, and is churned at a much slower speed, resulting in a lower fat content and a creamier texture.
Gelato: Dense and Intense
Gelato is served at a slightly warmer temperature than ice cream, so its texture stays silkier and softer. Because it has a lower percentage of fat than ice cream, the main flavor ingredient really shines through.
Here's how you can spot authentic gelato: To start off, gelato is made by using less fat compared to ice cream and is churned at a slower speed in order to ensure less air gets mixed in. This is why gelato is more dense and rich in flavor and ice cream has a whipped and fluffy consistency.
Once it melts, even just a little bit, and then refreezes, the ice crystals bind to one another, making larger crystals. This leaves the texture grainy and icy.
While both gelato and ice cream contain cream, milk and sugar, there are differences, too. Authentic gelato uses more milk and less cream than ice cream and generally doesn't use egg yolks, which are a common ingredient in ice cream.
Texture: Gelato is churned at a much slower speed, giving it a denser consistency than colder, harder and more aerated ice cream. Temperature: Gelato is served a couple of degrees warmer than ice cream, both to give it a softer consistency and to make the flavours more pronounced.
But if fat is what makes the frozen treat creamy, how can gelato be creamier? "There is a lot less air churned into gelato than into American ice cream, [a process] known as overrun," Morano says. American ice cream can be up to 50 percent air. Air makes it soft and fluffy.
Gumminess is related to the rheology of the unfrozen portion of ice cream, which in turn is related to the nature and degree of water immobilization. Although water immobilization is important to control ice crystal growth, a point is reached where the unfrozen product becomes sticky and very cohesive, i.e., gummy.
Whenever there is an increase in temperature, the ice crystals trapped in the mixture will melt. Well, that is completely fine if you wish to consume your gelato right away, but if you intend to eat only when you feel the need to cool down, always be sure your gelato is frozen.
Gelato is healthier for you.
SFGate reports that while ice cream has 14 to 17 percent milkfat, gelato contains just 3 to 8 percent. That's because ice cream uses lots of heavy cream, while gelato uses milk. Gelato also uses far fewer egg yolks than ice cream—in some cases none at all.
Gelato typically offers fewer calories, less sugar and lower fat content per serving than ice cream. The typical 3.5 oz. serving of vanilla gelato contains 90 calories and 3 grams of fat, compared to 125 calories and 7 grams of fat in the average vanilla ice cream.
While the word "gelati" is simply the plural of gelato, it's also considered its own dessert. It's a mixture of Italian ice (a sweetened dairy- and egg-free fruit-based dessert) and custard. Some are layered (a scoop of each dessert), while some are blended together.
Icy gelato
Causes: low total solids, too much water, not enough or wrong stabilizers. What to do: increase solids to reduce amount of water, add thickeners up to 0.5% and use strong ones specific for gelato (no starches or other weak ones).
As the ice cream mixture is cooled down, some of the water freezes and forms ice crystals. The concentration of sugar increases in the rest of the water, lowering the freezing point of the sugar-water solution – just like the salt in the example above. As a result, the ice cream stays soft.
You need to churn just enough to make the fat globules stick to the air bubbles and form a protective coating that stabilizes the foam. But too much churning can cause the fat globules to stick to each other, turning the mixture into butter.
If the gelato is arranged in huge mounds above the top of the metal tubs, then it is fake. The reason it can hold this shape is that it has a much higher percentage of air, made possible using chemical stabilizers.
The problem we have when trying re-create gelato at home is that our freezers are usually set to around 0 ° F (-18 ° C). And this is far too cold for gelato. Left in a freezer at this temperature it will become hard and icy after just three to four hours. Sure, you can leave it out of the freezer for a while to soften.
As water starts to freeze in a syrup, the unfrozen water becomes, in effect, a more concentrated syrup. This process continues until you have a bunch of small ice crystals in a sea of syrup so concentrated that it'll never really freeze.
Butterfat and Dairy
The more significant fat content of ice cream is in large part credited for making gelato seem "healthier," and it's also responsible for ice cream's firmer consistency and thick, luscious mouthfeel. All of that fat feels creamy and holds flavors in your mouth.
Gelato Flavour Liquid Packs are best stored refrigerated (2-4 degrees) or at room temperature (below 22 Degrees) out of direct sunlight. Once opened, Gelato Flavour Liquid Packs must be stored in refrigerator (2-4 degrees) for up to 4 days.
Why does gelato taste so much better in Italy than in the U.S.? Because those places who make it in-house use natural, quality ingredients and an artisanal, small batch process. They want a good reputation and return business. You can find industrial gelato too, however, which is not as good.