WHAT IS GELATO?

Gelato is an Italian frozen dessert, similar to ice cream. Its ingredients include milk and sugar, often combined with flavorings and fruit, include chocolate, vanilla, hazelnut, pistachio, liquor, spices or nuts, and stracciatella, though fruity flavors have become popular in recent years. Unlike true ice cream, gelato often does not contain cream, and traditionally has a much lower fat content. The name is also sometimes used to refer to similar frozen desserts that are prepared in with a similar method. It is often compared to ice milk rather than ice cream.

Gelato is made with milk, cream, sugar, and sometimes egg yolks for stabilization. The mixture is churned much more slowly than American ice cream, which results in an incredibly smooth and dense dessert. 

There are a few ways gelato can be prepared: 

The Hot Process: Ingredients are heated to 85 degrees for pasteurization, then placed in a batch freezer.

The Cold Process: Ingredients are mixed and placed into a batch freezer. 

The Sprint Process: Milk or water is added to a pre-packaged mixture of ingredients which is then mixed and batched.

Gelato is a style of ice cream that dates back several centuries to Italy. Since the primary ingredient in good gelato is milk, not cream, it has a softer dairy profile that should allow flavors to come through more strongly than a traditional ice cream. Today, gelato around the world is of varying qualities. Such qualities are highly dependent upon whether the dessert is made from scratch or by mixing milk with pre-made powders, mixes, or gels; the skill of the person creating the gelato; and the quality of the milk and other ingredients used.

In the history, Italian chef Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli is credited with inventing gelato in the 17th century. Procopio introduced the dessert at his café in Paris, but it quickly spread throughout Europe.  His creation was such a hit, Procopio obtained French citizenship and got an exclusive royal license from Louis XIV that made him the sole producer of gelato in France. Talk about a success.

Today Gelato is often compared to ice cream because it is a frozen, creamy product, but there are actually many differences. Unlike American ice cream, which contains 10-20% butterfat, gelato contains anywhere from 3-8% butterfat. The United States Department of Agriculture has designated that any product under 10% cannot legally be called ice cream. As a result, gelato will never be able to take the ice cream name. Gelato is able to keep the low percentages of butterfat because we only use 3% milk instead of cream, raw eggs and butter in our production.

Another feature of gelato that separates itself from American ice cream is the amount of air that is incorporated into the product. Most American style ice creams incorporate anywhere from 75%-100% of air. Gelato, however, incorporates a maximum of 20%. As a result, the gelato flavors are intensified because the butterfat acts as a dam and dilutes or blocks the flavors.

Gelato is an age-old delicacy that dates back thousands of years. The earliest beginnings of frozen desserts are recorded in 3000 B.C. when Asian cultures discovered they could consume crushed ice and flavorings. Five hundred years later, it became a custom for Egyptian pharaohs to offer their guests a cup of ice sweetened with fruit juices. Italians joined in as the Romans began the ritual of eating the ice of the volcanoes Etna and Vesuvius, and covering it with honey.

In the late 1500s, the Medici family commissioned famous artist and architect Bernardo Buontalenti to prepare a beautiful feast for the visiting King of Spain. Using his culinary skills to present an elaborate and visually pleasing display, Buontalenti presented the King of Spain with a creamy frozen dessert that we now call gelato. Buontalenti is considered the inventor of gelato.

Gelato made its way to the Americas for the first time in 1770, when Giovanni Basiolo brought it to New York City. At this point, there were two types of gelato – one made by mixing water with fruits such as lemon and strawberries (also known as Sorbetto), and another made by mixing milk with cinnamon, pistachio, coffee or chocolate. By 1846, the hand-crank freezer was refined and changed the way North Americans made this frozen dessert. The freezer kept the liquid mixture constantly in motion and kept it cool throughout, making a product that was no longer granular, but creamy. This is where the history of industrial ice cream began, as the product contained more air and was less dense. gelato did not make a name for itself in North America. until the late 1900s – although its popularity still had a long way to go.

Today, gelato stores are opening all over North America as they started to appreciate the superior quality of gelato and learn about the intense flavor, the natural ingredients and the nutritional value of gelato. And though gelato still remains largely undiscovered in North America. compared to Europe, companies like Rubicone are working to change that by training owners and employees of gelato shops and other foodservice establishments to combine technology with the tried and true Italian techniques – to consistently produce the creamiest, smoothest, most flavorful gelato around.

For all these reasons, gelato has a richer, creamier flavor than most ice creams or frozen yogurts. Gelato, we pride ourselves on using all natural ingredients, with no dyes or artificial flavoring. We source our milk locally and use the freshest ingredients we can find. Our recipes aren’t clouded by excess air or butterfat, which helps create their unique, full, and delicious taste. Basically, we create a better product with less filler and more flavor. 

Gelato is the Italian version of ice cream with an artisanal aesthetic. Gelato is denser than ice cream.

What does all of this information mean? Simply, that gelato is the most intense, silky, dense, cool, and flavorful “ice cream style” product that will hit your lips. The flavor is simply indescribable. An added bonus: because of all these factors, gelato is much healthier than ice cream.