We can say that, in the last few years, the gelato’s trend is getting more and more noticeable all around the world, becoming very popular in places where this dessert was simply unknown. Right now, the situation for this delicious, Italian treat is quite different.
However, even when gelato is enjoying an outstanding popularity like never before, the most common doubt about this dessert continues to be present: what are the differences between gelato and ice cream?
Fortunately, at ITV Ice Makers, we are fans of both ice and everything related to it. Today, we are going to talk about the most significant differences between gelato and its American sibling, the exquisite ice cream we all know.
Fat Content
The first difference that connoisseurs point out is related to fat content in each preparation. To have a good idea of this, we must mention that gelato contains from 3 to 10 percent of fat. On the other side, ice cream contains between 14 and 17 percent of fat, this due to reasons that we’ll explain later.
In fact, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), the American agency in charge of regulations on food and drug industries, establishes that ice cream recipes should have a minimum of 10 percent in fat content. Such regulation, of course, doesn’t apply for gelato commercialized in the US.
Air Content Within Packaging
We all hate when we, for example, get a bag of chips and realize that the packaging is mostly filled with air and not with the chips we want to eat. The most common reaction then is to feel like we have been ripped off, automatically condemning the company while ignoring the reasons behind this situation.
The same thing happens with ice cream. When we get a delicious ice cream, we find out that a considerable part of the packaging is filled with air and not with ice cream. Of course, there is a good reason for this.
During the ice cream’s preparation and packaging process, the machines inject air while pouring the cream, a technique that allows to exponentially increase the volume. Also, the air within the packaging allows the ice cream to be served without problems. Without this air content, we would face a frozen mass of cream, basically impossible to serve and enjoy.
In the case of gelato, the packaging only requires a minimum amount of air, which allows to serve it without too many problems and maintaining a proper structure.
Tasty Textures
The previous point, where we talked about air content, it’s also related to the dessert’s final texture. Ice cream, because of the packaging process, uses the air to get a higher volume and with it, a unique and creamy texture that we’ll not find somewhere else. Of course, a considerable amount of air isn’t the only influence here.
During the preparation, the ice cream is whipped fast and energetically, a factor that is considered as a fundamental key to getting the right results.
With gelato, something different happens. First, we have the amount of air, which is exponentially lower in comparison with ice cream. However, the whipping speed is a lot more important here. The texture ends up being a lot denser.
Serving’s Temperature
The last difference that we can point out between gelato and ice cream is the temperature in the moment when we serve and enjoy them. Ice cream is served at a higher temperature, even though it melts down faster.
On the other hand, gelato is served considerably colder, among -13 degrees Celsius. With this, we can get a very creamy texture, even creamier if we compare it to ice cream, even though gelato doesn’t include any kind of cream during its preparation.