What is Gelato?

Gelato, or the plural Gelati, is made from milk and sugar, combined with other flavorings. The gelato ingredients (after an optional pasteurization) are super-cooled while stirring to break up ice crystals as they form. Unlike ice cream, gelato generally has less than 35% air - resulting in a dense and extremely flavorsome product.Gelato is the generic Italian for ice cream. The same word is commonly used in English speaking countries to refer to "ice cream" that is prepared in the Italian way. "Gelato" is an Italian word for "frozen" and comes from the Italian word gelare, meaning "to freeze."Gelato is typically made with fresh fruit or other ingredients such as chocolate (pure chocolate, flakes, chips, candies, truffles, etc.), nuts, small candies, sweets, or cookies. Outside Italy it is made using flavors imported from Italy. Gelato made with water and without dairy ingredients is also known as sorbetto. Traditionally, milk-based gelato originated in Northern Italy, while the fruit-and-water based sorbetto came from the hotter parts of Southern Italy and Sicily. 

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Difference between Gelato and Ice Cream

Dairy gelato is made with whole cow's milk and contains 4–8% butterfat depending on the ingredients.  North American-style ice creams contain more butterfat than gelato, up to 18% since more cream is used. (Fruit gelato is made mostly from fruit and water therefore it does not contain milk or cream and has only 0 to 2% fat content).    Unlike ice cream, gelato ingredients are not homogenized together, and the result is that the product melts faster than ice cream.Gelato is served from a different freezer than American style ice cream—a forced air freezer—which is usually held at about -15°C (0–6°F). This allows the gelato to be served immediately after being extruded from the gelato machine—the "forced air" blowing around holds the product at a consistent temperature. The best gelato is made fresh daily. Much of the gelato experience lies in its semi-frozen consistency, therefore, you may serve ice cream from a gelato freezer but you may not serve gelato from an ice cream freezer; the gelato would become too frozen.Some Italian food products use gelato as a main ingredient. These may include ice cream cake, semifreddos (gelato cake), spumoni, cassate, Tartufo, and fruit-filled gelato candies and mignon.

Gelato Is Good For You!

Gelato is not just a dessert, but a nourishing food:  it has high biological protein value, high level of minerals, and vitamin B.  It also contains calcium and phosphorus, fundamental elements for everyone but in particular for children, seniors pregnant women and anyone who practices sports. 

Gelato is easier to digest than plain milk because the lipids that it contains are finely homogenized.  It can be consumed by diabetics in moderate amounts because the sugars used are largely saccharose (composed of glucose and fructose) that in diabetics raises the glycemia less than a side dish composed of potatoes. 

Calorie Comparison

	Per 100 gr (our small)
Strawberry gelato	108
Lemon gelato	124
Coffee gelato	190
Vanilla gelato	202

Other sweets:

Croissant	408
Chocolate milk	568
Oreo cookies	450