Just What is Gelato, Anyways?

Put simply, gelato is Italian ice cream, made from the same ingredients but in different proportions.  Gelato has roots that stretch back thousands of years.  The earliest frozen desserts on record can be found in Asian cultures where crushed ice mixed with flavorings was a refreshing beverage, to the ancient Egyptian pharoahs offering a cup of ice flavored with fruit juices to their guests.  Frozen desserts first came to Italy in the Roman tradition of eating ice gathered from the volcanoes ofEtna and Vesuvius that was covered in meliflous honey.

It was during the Italian Rennaissance that gelato in it’s modern form was first created.  In the 1500′s, a wealthy family commissioned artist and architect, Bernardo Buontalenti, to create an elaborate feast for the visiting King of Spain.  Not only was Buontalenti talented in the arts, he also had quite a culinary prowess, and crafted a creamy frozen dessert for the King that has since been known as gelato.  The love for this indulgent treat spread quickly through Europe and has become deeply entrenched in the fabric of everyday life in Italy.

So what exactly, you may ask, is the difference between gelato and ice cream?

Here at Zingerman’s Creamery, we take pride in the ingredients we use for our hand-crafted gelato.  The same great Calder Dairy cows milk we use in our cheese forms the base for our gelato.  We pasteurize it in small batches for our equally small-batch flavors.  There is truly few pleasures greater than a scoop of gelato fresh out of the machine.

Josh uses the pasteurizer to heat the gelato ingredients up to 85°C for 5 seconds and then drops the temperature down to 5°C.   After pasteurization,  the gelato is placed in a batch freezer.  The mix is frozen quickly as air in incorporated, carefully controlling the formation of tiny ice crystals, and allowing the mix to transform into luscious, full-flavored gelato.

There are 3 big difference between gelato and ice cream.  The first, mentioned above, is the lack of air incorporated into the mix.  Ice cream traditionally made up of  50% volume by air, while gelato ranges between 20-35%.  Gelato has a much lower percentage of butterfat than ice cream, coming in between 4-8% versus ice cream’s 14%.  This seems paradoxical because gelato can taste so much creamier than ice cream yet has much less fat.  Finally, sugar content is closely monitored and balanced with water content and come in slightly lower than ice cream.  So in gelato, sugar serves both to sweeten and act as an anti-freeze.

So, while we think there really is a difference you can taste between gelato and ice cream, the only palate that really matters is yours.  Ask for a taste the next time you are here at the Creamery or at Zingerman’s Next Door and let us know if you really can taste the difference.  And if not, we’d like nothing more than to refund your hard-earned cash.

1. Better ingredients
We use fresh milk from Calder Dairy, organic Demerara brown sugar and fresh local produce.

2. Traditionally-Crafted
We make gelato with traditional Sicilian techniques and with authentic equipment we brought over from Bologna, Italy.

3. Freshly made
We’re making small batches right here in Ann Arbor. Zingerman’s Creamery gelato will always be far fresher than stuff that’s pre-packed and shipped across the country.