Bonasera, Bonasera, what have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully?
—Don Corleone

 

Short answer:

Gelato means ice cream in Italian.

 

Longer answer:

Italians are passionate about food—and about knowing what’s authentically Italian, and about the one true God-given way to cook something or name something. This is especially true for Italian food lovers, and even more true for Italian food professionals. Never mind that no one in Tuscany agrees with anyone in Sicily; no one in Rome agrees with anyone in Verona; no one in Bologna agrees with anyone in Venice. Worse, no expert you talk to will agree with the equally qualified pastry chef, food critic, or gelatista right down the street. It’s best not to pay too much attention to debates over Italian food names and taxonomy—but do yourself a favor and pay close attention to the food.

 

More serious answer:

There are many styles of ice cream in the world. Some of them are called gelato. There is no clear distinction; gelato is a family of styles of ice cream that evolved in Italy. Every absolute fact about gelato that anyone insists upon will have notable exceptions.

Many of the facts about other styles of ice cream are likewise dubious. While there’s a US law that says ice cream must be at least 10% fat, this does not apply to “light ice cream.” And it does not apply in other countries where ice cream is served, which is almost all of them. In Europe, ice cream is voluntarily regulated by Euroglace, which says dairy ice cream must have 5% fat. Which would include most gelatos.

While there are no absolutes, we can make some generalizations:

Gelato is usually low in fat, falling somewhere between 5% and 12%. But not always. You will find rich, high-fat gelatos in the north. Gelato is usually (but again, not always) served on the warm side—around -8°C to -12°C, while U.S. and other European-style ice creams are usually served more around -14°C. These warmer gelatos are served softer, typically with a spatula rather than a scoop. Gelato is usually low overrun (the measure of how much its volume is increased by air whipped in during freezing). Gelato usually has around 20% to 30% overrun. Ice creams can vary enormously—anywhere from 10% to over 100%. Premium and artisan ice creams tend to be right around the same level as the artisan gelatos.

That’s about it for the list of usuals. Here’s the sometimes list:

Gelato is sometimes made without eggs. Typically in the south and central parts of the country. In the north, eggs are common. Gelato is sometimes made without cream. Almost always in the south. This is partly because it’s hot in the south, and a lighter product is more refreshing. And partly because there’s less money in the south, and cream and eggs are expensive. The lighter southern-style gelatos are often higher in sugar and often include corn starch (in order to boost the solids level and give the ice cream body in the absence of cream and eggs). When these styles developed, the gelatistas did not have access to different sugars or to stabilizers more sophisticated than starch. In recent years inulin (a thickening fiber typically refined from chicory root) has become common. Gelato is sometimes made fresh every day, rather than being stored overnight and served again. Some makers will tell you this is about preserving the flavors, but really it’s because it’s hard to preserve the texture of ice cream that you store at such warm serving temperatures, unless you use more sophisticated stabilizers. Which many makers now do—and why it’s no longer a given that the gelato is made fresh daily.

Some of this also has to do with the style of serving case. The traditional display, which holds the gelato under glass in shallow Napoli trays, typically does a lousy job of maintaining a good storage environment. Because of this, many shops have moved to a less traditional pozzetti style container and case that’s built around controlling temperature and air flow. But it hides the gelato from the customer. These shops enjoy the freedom of being able to store their product for a few days while preserving quality.

From a Technical Point of View:

All the ideas in this blog series apply equally to gelato as to other ice cream styles. If you were to ask me for advice on improving a gelato recipe, I’d ignore the word, and go right to asking, as I always do: what specific texture and flavor qualities are you looking for? What serving temperature are you aiming for? What production resources do you have? Whether you call it ice cream, gelato, or a Krusty Partly-Gelatinated Non-Dairy Gum-Based Beverage is much less useful.

If you were looking specifically for something with a soft consistency, servable with a gelato spatula, I’d encourage you to work with lower serving temperatures rather than trying to radically depress the freezing point. I dislike the excessive sweetness (or excessive use of non-sweet sugars and sugar alcohols) needed to soften ice cream this much at colder temperatures. Otherwise, it’s the exact same considerations and the exact same math. And mostly the same equipment.*

From a Sociological Point of View:

I’ve noticed the loudest gelato punditry coming from outside of Italy. It’s the homesick ex-pats and wistful Italophiles who imagine their one-true-gelato in a mythic, ambrosial, idealized form. These people don’t always agree with one another either. But they tend to call out qualities that belong to their favorite artisanal Italian gelatos, and which contrast most strongly with the ice cream of whatever non-Italian corner of the world they find themselves imprisoned in. They may insist on qualities discussed above: low overrun; low fat; a soft, slightly elastic, formable texture; low serving temperatures; intense flavors. They forgive excessive sweetness. These qualities do exist in artisanal gelatos back in Bella Italia—alongside many other contrasting qualities and styles.

There’s one particularly annoying argument that I hear from these voices outside Italy: they define gelato with descriptions that only apply to the finest artisanal gelatos … while they define ice cream with descriptions that only apply to the cheapest industrial versions. They manage to ignore all the industrial gelatos, and all the artisanal ice creams. This is just rhetorical nonsense—a steaming scoop of fake Italian stronzate.

Final Thoughts

I’d rather see this blog as a unifying voice—and as a resource for everyone seeking maximum deliciousness. Regardless of where you reside on this planet. And regardless which styles and flavors you yearn for. And regardless of which town or nation or local shop offered the first frozen taste that put a smile on your face.

 

TL;DR

Gelato means ice cream in Italian. It’s also a broad umbrella term for a variety of styles of ice cream made popular in Italy. Outside of Italy, most people will expect a dense, lower-fat ice cream served soft at warmer temperatures.

 

*Machines capable of making low-overrun artisanal ice cream are equally suited to making artisanal gelato styles. And vice versa. This includes most countertop vertical bowl machines. Some machines (including some popular American models) are only designed to make ice cream pumped full of air.

 

[This post was adapted from an answer I posted on Quora.com, in a moment of boredom and poor self-control.]

 

 

For further reading:

I Segreti Del Gelato, Angelo Corvitto
Gelato Messina: The Recipes, Nick Palumbo
Frozen Desserts: A Comprehensive Guide for Food Service Operations by The Culinary Institute of America, Francisco Migoya
Napoli vs. pozzetti cases (Taylor Inc. UK)
Meredith Kurtzman Interview
Mattia Cavalleri Interview
Professional Gelato Training .com
Euroglaces