History

The History of Gelato dates back to the 16th century. There is some confusion in the origin as to where or who really invented gelato. As most stories go, it is credited to Bernardo Buontalenti, a native of Florence, who delighted the court of Caterina dei Medici with his creation. Italians are certainly credited with introducing gelato to the rest of Europe; with Sicilian born Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli who undoubtedly was one of the most influential individuals in the history of gelato, as one of the first to sell it to the public. Summoned to Paris in 1686, he opened a café named after himself called “Café Procope”, which quickly became one of the most celebrated haunts of the literary establishment in France. In Italy meanwhile, the art of traditional gelato making was passed on from father to son, improved and perfected right up to the 20th century, when many gelato makers began to emigrate, taking their know-how to the rest of Europe.

Overview

Gelato is typically made with fresh fruit or other ingredients such as chocolate (pure chocolate, flakes, chips, etc.), nuts, small confections or cookies, or biscuits. Gelato made with water and without dairy ingredients is known as sorbetto (also known as sorbet). Traditionally, milk-based gelato originated in northern Italy, while the fruit and water based sorbetto came from the warmer parts of southern Italy.

Dairy gelato is made with cow's milk (whole or skim) and contains less butterfat depending on the ingredients (nuts, milk, or cream increase the fat content). North American style ice creams contain more butterfat than gelato, ranging from 10% to 18% since cream is usedFact: date=April 2009. Good quality gelato combines high quality ingredients with milk and cream, soy milk, or water. Gelato is usually made with whole milk which is 3 to 4% butterfat Fact: date=April 2009. Unlike other ice cream, gelato ingredients are not homogenized, which results in a product that melts faster.

Some gelato recipes call for eggs, although with the homogenization of the Italian gelato culture and mixes and stabilisers readily available and in use, eggs are being phased out as emulsifiers.

Some people have the misconception that the word "gelato" is related to "gelatin" and that the latter is an ingredient, chasing away vegetarians and other people wishing to avoid gelatin. Traditional gelato recipes do not call for it and most gelato is not made with gelatin. Gelato in Italian literally means "frozen", but it is basically used to indicate the Italian type of ice cream.

In the UK, gelato is served from a different freezer from American style ice cream—a forced air freezer—which is usually held at about -15°C (5°F). This allows the gelato to be served immediately after being extruded from the gelato machine— the "forced air" blowing around holds the product at a consistent temperature. In Italy gelato is typically served with a spoon out of a special freezing tray, ensuring a thicker, more flavourous consistency. Much of the gelato experience lies in its semi-frozen consistency; therefore, you may serve ice cream from a gelato freezer but you may not serve gelato from an ice cream freezer—the gelato would become too frozen.