Gelato!

The word gelato is derived from the Italian verb gelare, meaning "to freeze". It is no surprise that the Italians are most often credited with the invention of modern-day gelato, which traces its origins to the courts of the Medicis, and to Catherine de Medici in particular.

Borrowed a book on gelato to find out a little more on ice cream making and here are some notes that I have taken down.

What is Gelato?

-It is a mixture of milk and cream, sugar, eggs, and a flavour ingredient that is chilled and whipped while it is frozen.

-Gelato is essentially the same as ice cream, the major difference between the two being the amount of air and butterfat contained in each.

-Gelato contains between 6 to 8% butterfat, while American-style ice cream ranges from 10 to 16%.

-Because gelato contains less fat, less air is whipped into it giving it a slightly denser and softer consistency than ice cream.

The 5 basic components

-All basic mixes, either for gelato or ice cream, contain five major components: water, sugar, fat, solids and flavouring agents.

-A balanced gelato mix will have the following percentages: fats, 6 to 11%; sugar, 16 to 21%; solids, 30 to 38%; and water plus flavouring agents the remaining %.