Gelato - Heavenly Dessert

Gelato can be simplistically described as an ice-cream with less fat. But like all simplistic definitions, it doesn’t have completeness. Though gelato is often erroneously referred to as the Italian word for ice-cream, but there are differences between gelato and conventional ice-creams. Many a time people can’t make out the difference between gelatos and regular ice-creams. However, though Indians are largely ignorant of the nuances of gelato, but that doesn’t stop them from appreciating its heavenly taste.

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Gelato can be prepared with milk, cream, various sugars, and fresh fruit and nut purees. Gelato and conventional ice-creams are different in terms of nutritional value. Gelatos come across as more dense than icecreams and they have less calories, fat and sugar than your average ice-creams. Here by ice-cream we are referring to your average ice-cream available on the kiosk next door, and not some special healthy tailor made ice-cream. One can also define gelatos as special and healthy ice-creams.

Less Air, More Dense

One important difference between gelatos and ice-creams is the difference in their air content. Ice-creams are churned fast to infuse a great deal of air, which is facilitated by the high proportion of cream in the base, whereas gelato is churned at a much slower speed, which brings less air into the base.

Gelato has only 35 percent over run which means it has more product and less air content than industrial ice-creams, thus yielding a denser, more compact silky consistency as compared to mediocre industrial ice-creams, which have 50-90 percent over run. It is sold by weight and not by volume. More air in ice-creams give them a smooth and fluffy texture. Conversely, less air is also the reason why gelatos taste more dense than ice-creams.

Gelatos, on an average, have less air than other frozen desserts, and they also generally have more flavouring than other frozen desserts.

Less Fat, More Taste