What is Gelato?

How is gelato any different than ice cream?

Depends who you ask - but it comes down to three things:

1. Temperature

Gelato is served at a higher temperature, typically 10-15 F, while ice cream is usually enjoyed at around 0 F. The higher serving temperature of gelato means the flavors come through stronger. The higher serving temperature can happen because the gelato is has less air incorporated than ice cream therefore it melts more slowly.

2. Density

Gelato uses milk and little to no cream, while ice cream uses mostly heavy cream. Both have air added in during the churning process impacting the density of the final, tasty product. The air added is also known as the overrun. Ice cream churns faster, incorporating more air into its mixture for a more volumous, lighter scoop. Increased air (and fat) in ice cream keep it soft enough to scoop at lower temperatures. Handcrafted gelato churns more slowly introducing less air making the final product denser, smoother, and more flavorful. The denser, lower in fat gelato can withstand higher temperatures before melting (see above).

Gelato incorporates 30-35% air, while ice cream can introduce as much as 100% air into the mixture. If you filled the same size containers with both gelato and ice cream, the gelato container would weigh more.

3. BUTTERFAT

Butterfat is the natural fat that is found in milk. Gelato is made with milk and less heavy cream than ice cream, so it has less butterfat than traditional hard ice creams. Butterfat coats the palate, which means more sugar and flavor are required for it to be noticeable as the butterfat increases. American ice cream can vary from 10-25% (the USDA requires at least 10% butterfat in ice cream) while gelato typically has 3-9% milkfat. Less butterfat allows the natural flavors to come through with less added sugar and other unnecessary ingredients. The lower butterfat content also allows the gelato to have less overrun and serve at a warmer temperature making Butterfat the key difference between gelato and ice cream.

Ice cream commonly uses egg yolks as a thickening agent, and gelato generally does not. Butterfat Gelato does not use eggs and is thickened with cornstarch.