So, What is Gelato?
You’ve heard the name, maybe you have tried it, and perhaps even made it yourself. But do you know what it is?
Introduction
The easiest and most complete way to answer this question is:
“Gelato is ice cream done the Italian way”
Because everything there is to be said and known about Gelato is encapsulated in that statement. Unfortunately though, as great and all-encompassing as it is, it leaves a lot of room for interpretation, and begs for a bit of explaining.
So in this article I will do just that — clarify what I mean by the above and, in the process, debunk some myths and misunderstandings about Italy's favourite dessert that litter the media left right and centre.
Read on!
Putting the Record Straight
With Gelato becoming increasingly popular and kind of a buzzword in all sorts of media, it is only natural that more and more people start writing about it. I personally think this is great — the more people writing about it, the more people will know about and want to enjoy it, which will entice more people to make it, which should help solve one of the greatest problems currently facing humankind: the fact that it is so hard to find proper Gelato outside of Italy.
Everybody wins!… right?
Well, maybe not so fast. You see, unfortunately many an "expert" writing about Gelato don't seem to really know what they are talking about, and more often than not write / say unhelpful things.
To add insult to injury, most of the people who really know what Gelato is are either too busy making it for their loyal customers to have the time to write about it, or do write great things about the dessert of the gods but do so in Italian.
The consequence of this is that there is a lot of misinformation around on what Gelato really is, which leads to many unscrupulous vendors out there calling the stuff that they sell Gelato when it totally is not.
So I thought that a good start for my humble attempt at sharing some Gelato wisdom would be to first clarify what Gelato IS NOT.
Let's have a look.
What Gelato Is Not
A google search on the question ‘what is the difference between gelato and ice cream?’ yields a stunning 109,000,000 results. That’s more than one hundred million (!), so definitely there are a lot of people out there writing about Gelato.
One would imagine that with so much material around, there would be a lot of variety, but unfortunately the opposite is the case: most articles I have read repeat three or four mantras, over and over again.
Let's have a closer look at them and see if they survive scrutiny.
Myth #1: Gelato is just the Italian word for ice cream.
This is one of the most common answers. But is it true? A quick check on the dictionary seems to confirm so — look at what the Collins Italian-English dictionary has to say:
But wait, dictionaries are renown for oversimplifying concepts, so let’s have a look at some slightly more detailed definitions.
This is a loose translation of the Italian Wikipedia's definition of Gelato:
“Gelato is a type of food which is obtained by combining certain ingredients [usually milk, sugar and a flavouring] and bringing the resulting mixture to a solid or semi-solid foamy state through its simultaneous freezing and agitation, which results in the incorporation of air.”
And this is what the English Wikipedia has to say about ice cream:
“Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a dessert. It is usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, often combined with flavors and sweetened with sugar. The mixture is stirred to incorporate air and cooled below the freezing point of water. The result is a smooth, semi-solid foam.”
And they seem to confirm the myth, right? The text for Gelato is almost word for word the same as that for ice cream.
However…
The problem with this argument is that it tries to simplify something that is by nature complex. Just think about it for a minute — a Ferrari Enzo might be made out of metal, have a petrol engine and four wheels, but would you say that it is the same thing as a Tata Nano? I mean, as cars they may share generalities, but there is a world of a difference between them!
The same is the case for Gelato and ice cream. Yes, they are milk based desserts, yes they are sold frozen, and yes you can call my Gelato an ice cream (or whichever word you use for ice cream in your language), but you only have to see and try a proper Gelato to realise that the experience of it is indeed very different than that of general ice cream.
And in case you are still not convinced, have a look at the images below. Can you really say the thing on the right is the same as the thing on the left?
I can see you resolutely swinging your head sideways in negation, so I think we can now confidently say that Gelato is NOT just the Italian word for ice cream.
Great — Let's move on!
Myth #2: Gelato is ice cream with less air, less fat and served at a warmer temperature.
The number of infographics describing the above in numbers and images is mind boggling. To be honest, even I thought like this for some time. But as I learned more about Gelato, I started to realise how often this differentiation does not reflect the truth — although it may be sometimes the case, what makes Gelato different from generic ice cream is so much something else that I think it is time to put this myth to rest as well.
And we will do this but looking into a case study. Let's take a premium vanilla ice cream product and analyse its nutritional information:
The tub label claims to contain 460ml of ice cream and weight 332gr. This means it has about 38% air (known in technical jargon as "overrun"), which is around the same as most good quality Gelato. The fat is on the high end but not too much; some Italian Gelato traditions, like that of Bologna, also tend to have high fat content — not so much but not too far either. And the sugar content (if we consider lactose, as explained in this article) is also quite similar to that of proper Gelato, particularly those of a Southern Italian provenance.
So, this far… no real differences.
The last thing left to check then is the serving temperature. Gelato is usually served between -12º and -14ºC, while a domestic freezer is usually set to between -18º and -22ºC. To check how the ice cream will behave at a Gelato serving temperature we will have to use a simple trick — take the ice cream out of the freezer, remove the cover and keep it in the fridge for some time, so that it reaches the higher temperature range. Normally the temperature will drop at a rate of 1ºC every 5 minutes for a 1/2 lt tub in such conditions, so something around 40–45 minutes should do the trick.
[In case you are a bit of a nerd like me, you may want to get yourself a probe thermometer to make sure the cream is at the right temperature range]
Now go ahead and serve it. If you have tried a proper Gelato before, you will realise it feels very different.
So there you go — we demonstrated that an ice cream with similar fat, incorporated air and serving temperature as Gelato doesn't feel like Gelato.
So we can put this myth to rest as well.
Good!! We are making progress :)
Myth #3: Gelato is ice cream made using a specific recipe with specific ingredients.
I've read many books and articles claiming what the "authentic" Gelato recipe is. Some list milk (but no cream), egg yolks, sugar and carob flour. Others include cream but no egg yolks and corn starch instead of carob flour. Still others no cream, no egg yolks but indeed corn starch.
Which one is the real original?
The truth is — all and none. Let me explain.
One day I will write an article specifically dedicated to the history of Gelato, but for now I will just say that it didn't come about at once in a single location — instead it was developed in parallel over time and in different parts of Italy.
In Sicily it used to be made with milk, sugar and corn starch; across the straight in Naples (a city with a long and pioneering history of Gelato making) it had milk, eggs and corn starch; travel towards the richer lands further north and cream was incorporated but no corn starch.
So you see, the regional recipe would be dictated by the ingredients available in the surroundings. To complicate matters further, today's technology amplified this diversity a whole order of magnitude. If you are lucky enough to have a peek into the recipe book of a modern Gelatiere Italiano you will find not only all the above but also dextrose, glucose syrup, skimmed milk powder, plant fibres, and a whole lot more.
Yet, all of them were and are called Gelato, and they feel a certain special way when consumed.
So it can't really be the recipe or the ingredients, right?
Another myth put to rest!
What Sets Gelato Apart
Now that we have agreed that Gelato is neither a) the same as ice cream; b) a specific fat percentage / overrun / serving temperature; c) a specific recipe or set of ingredients; it is time to discuss what it really is.
The way I like to describe it is as an experience. If you have tried real Italian artisan Gelato, you know it feels very special. It is refreshing and creamy like an ice cream, but there is something quite unique about it.
And like any experience, it is tricky to describe, because words cannot replace the actual sensation. So to make it easier to understand how the experience of Gelato feels I tried to identify its key requirements.
For me they are:
Consistency: This is one of the key things that set Gelato apart. While most ice cream is relatively hard when served, only melting gradually into a creamy bundle once in your mouth, Gelato looks creamy and soft all along. If you are not sure what I'm talking about, just have a look at the image below an you will get what I mean — have you ever seen ice cream with this texture? So in order for a cream to deserve being called Gelato it will have to be: malleable, with the right density; light; and a little bit elastic.
Mouthfeel: This is the result of the consistency. I have heard people say after trying Gelato for the first time (including myself!) that it feels like a “frozen mousse”, a “fluffy cloud”, or a “playful ribbon”. Also that it doesn't feel so cold on the palate. So in order for a cream to deserve being called Gelato it will have to feel: soft; silky and light; fresh but not cold.
Visuals: More and more people come to agree that we experience food with at least three senses (taste, smell, and vision). Here Gelato also excels. On the one hand, its silky texture and viscous structure gives it a lush finish which instantly catches the eye. On the other, because it is made with real ingredients and not colourants or preservatives, colours are vivid but not shiny. So in order for a cream to deserve being called Gelato it will have to look: soft; silky and with a certain degree of viscosity; and have vibrant but natural colours.
Flavour: The last requirement for a cream to qualify as Gelato is flavour. It really tastes like what it claims to taste. There are several ways of getting the flavour of an ingredient, such as extracts, concentrates, etc., but nothing beats the flavour of the real ingredient. Fresh lemon juice; fresh berries; real nut, ground to a paste. Combine that with carefully balanced recipes that bring out the most of an ingredient's taste and aroma, and you have unbeatable flavour.
One (Two) More Things…
Before we wrap up, there are two other aspects to consider when evaluating if a cream can be called proper Gelato. I will discuss them in depth in a future article about what makes Gelato special, but I thought it would be handy to mention them in passing before closing this entry.
The first is artisanship. Gelato is essentially an artisan phenomenon in Italy. There are more than 19,000 (!!) artisanal parlours registered in the country, which produce their creams in-house, daily, in small batches, using artisanal machines requiring plenty of human intervention.
The second is freshness. Gelato is like bread, it tastes best while fresh. Store it in the frezer for long and it doesn't feel the same. That is why artisanal production in small batches is essential — you make it as it is consumed, so the customer always gets a fresh product.
So if, and only if, a cream fulfils the six strict requirements of consistency, mouthfeel, looks, flavour, artisanship and freshness; I will call it Gelato (with a capital G) — a product born out of Italian ingenuity and obsession with food perfection.
The specifics may vary — more fat, less fat; more air, less air; this ingredient or that ingredient — but it really doesn't matter, it will certainly not feel like ordinary ice cream, it will be:
“Ice cream done the Italian way”
Because you see, Italians are notorious for taking their food to extremes of inventiveness, rigour and savouriness, so when we say that anything is done “the Italian way”, you should not take it lightly.
Wrapping Up
So there you go, we can now agree that Gelato (with a capital G) is ice cream done the Italian way, which means that it:
- Has a specific malleable and viscous consistency which can be handled and shaped straight out of the display freezer with a spade;
- In the mouth feels light, silky and viscous, dense and flavoursome; fresh but not cold;
- Has a silky sheen, and looks uncanningly creamy and malleable, with vivid but natural colours;
- Has unbeatable flavour, the result of careful balancing and the use of high quality, natural ingredients; with no artificial flavours or colourants.
- Is made by artisans, in small batches, fresh daily.
Miss any of those and you might as well just call it ice cream, Italian ice cream, or gelato (with a small g), I’m fine with that.
A presto!!
*Note: this story is part of a series of articles comprising an introduction to Gelato-making. You can access the full series here:
