Gelato - Is there anyone who doesn't like it?
 

The truth is I do not like Ice Cream. How close is Gelato to ice cream? What is the difference?

I'm not a huge ice cream fan, either, except when Ben & Jerry call my name once in awhile. I will admit, however, gelato is still quite different from your typical ice cream. It's just "creamier."

That said, I still only have gelato maybe once when I'm in Italy, simply because I seem to be too busy seeing the sights and doing other things. My DH, on the other hand, has it about once a day. :)

Its denser, creamier, served at a slightly higher temperature than ice-cream and there are many many different flavours, including several fruity flavours.

If you dislike ice cream because it is cold or sweet - then you are out of luck :)

I call dibs on yours if you don't like it! :)

I like gelato (it's not whipped like ice cream, so it's denser). However, I love Italian ices even more. They're like sherbet, and the fruit flavors are intense. Mmmm!

<i>Gelato</i> is a word used to describe extremely expensive ice cream, just as <i>H&auml;agen-Dazs</i> is a word used to describe ice cream made and packaged in New Jersey.

Generally the flavors are more intense in Italy--very clean, fresh, intense nut, berry, other fruit, and chocolate flavors--and I think less sweet than most American ice cream. In the south, the gelato is much lighter than American ice cream, and generally does not have egg yolks or cream, or at least not too much, so it is much easier to digest that premium american ice cream. However, while it is less thick and less fat than american ice cream, it is also much silkier in texture and more stongly flavored than American &quot;ice milk.&quot;

Well made granita is a wonderful thing--the most refreshing snack there is. It's just a very simple water ice, made with good water and sugar and and pure, fresh, natural flavor materials like lemon juice and a little zest or berry juice and pulp or almond milk or cinnamon or espresso coffee.

I've had this argument with people before &amp; I know I'll get jumped on, but...

&quot;Gelato&quot; is just the Italian word for ice cream. The fact that American style ice cream is quite different from Italian style ice cream is beside the point. I think Americans tend to see gelato as a totally different thing because they are only used to American style ice cream. (And yes, I've gathered that some shops in the US call their product 'gelato' - presumably because it is Italian style.) In the UK we get Italian style ice cream (especially in Scotland, due to lots of Italian immigration in times gone by), American style ice cream, traditional British ice cream - with all these styles, you get good makes and bad makes. But it's all ice cream. I personally don't like American style ice cream (I find it too sweet &amp; creamy) but I do like Italian style ice cream, and the best Italian style ice cream I've had is, unsurprisingly, in Italy. I have also had medicocre ice cream in Italy. (And before anybody pounces on that statement, of course I would ask for 'gelato' rather 'ice cream' if I were asking for it in Italy. Although if you are at the gelateria it doesn't really come into it - you'd just be asking for 'una coppa a &euro;5 con fragole, mirtilla e limone' or whatever :-) )

If you're like me &amp; don't like American style ice cream because it's too sweet &amp; creamy, you'll probably like Italian fruit flavours &amp; may even like the creamier ones. As another poster said, the best Italian ice cream has very fresh, clean &amp; unadulterated flavours. Where are you going ? My fave is the San Crispino in Rome, a couple of streets away from the Trevi fountain. Do try it !

Gelato and ice cream are NOT the same and it has nothing to do with what Americans &quot;call&quot; it or what Italians &quot;call&quot; it....the fat content, for one thing, is different, amongst other things.

Believe me, when you are IN Europe and eating ITALIAN gelato you'll enjoy it whether you like ice cream or not. And if you really don't like it, simply feed it to that special one you are with and THAT will be enjoyment enough.

Gelato is OK, but I vastly prefer American style ice cream. If I want intense fruit or nut flavors, I'll eat an orange or crack a hazelnut. Though I do think that some of the booze-based gelato flavors are pretty good.

On the other hand, Mrs. Fly is a gelato groupie.

I agree with Intrepid1. There are vast differences between American-style ice cream and gelato. Gelato has less butterfat than ice cream, its less frozen, and its not nearly as dense. Ice cream has air added to it; gelato does not.

I love gelato. The flavors are much more intense and richer than anything I can find here in the U.S., and there certainly are unique flavors of gelato that you probably can't find in any typical ice cream shop!

Tracy

Gelato is <b>not</b> ice cream as it does not use <i>cream</i> as an ingredient.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Gelato is an Italian frozen dessert made from water and milk and/or soy milk, combined with flavourings, sweeteners, and a stabilizing agent. The gelato ingredients are first pasteurized then super-cooled while stirring to break up ice crystals as they form. Unlike ice cream, gelato machinery whips almost no air into the gelato, resulting in a dense and extremely flavorful product. This allows even non-dairy gelato to match and sometimes exceed dairy-based gelato or ice cream for taste.

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. Gelato made with water and without dairy ingredients is also known as sorbet.

Gelato typically contains 2–8% fat depending on the ingredients (nuts, milk, or cream would increase the fat content). North American-style ice creams contain more fat than gelato, ranging from 10% to 30% since cream is used. High-end ice creams use more cream, whereas high-end gelato combines higher quality ingredients with cow's milk, soy milk, or water. Note that in the United States, a frozen dessert must contain at least 10% milk fat in order to be legally called &quot;ice cream,&quot; although the term &quot;low-fat ice cream&quot; can legally be used for desserts with fat content similar to gelato.

Anyone can post a Wikipedia entry &amp; this entry was obviously written by an American.

From any Italian-English dictionary or online translation tool: gelato = ice cream.

Ice cream in countries other than the US does not necessarily involve cream.

My my what a silly argument. Not to draw from linguistics courses or anything, but:

The literal translation of gelato may mean ice cream. that doesnt mean that the actual product is the same in terms of flavor, ingredients, etc. It's made in a different environment, hence it's going to be different in texture, flavor, etc.

It's like going for a bagel in New York and a bagel in phoenix. sure, it's the same name - but the taste - oh dear - no comparison!

Despite the fact that many persons insist that gelato = ice cream, the USDA doesn't agree.

From http://www.ams.usda.gov/kidsweb/dairygrading.htm

&quot;Ice cream is made from cream, milk, sweeteners, flavorings, stabilizers, and emulsifiers. To be shipped in interstate commerce, *** it must contain at least 10 percent milkfat ***&quot;.

Gelato has about 7% or less milkfat.

((I))

Both can be good. Good Italian gelato can be better, imo. In the end it's just a treat. When I'm sitting at a cafe at night, I prefer grappa.

OK, if you're just comparing it with American ice cream, it's different. But the US is not the only place in the world which has a version of ice cream.

I generally eat yogurt, and my favourite supplier makes varieties which vary in fat content from 0.5 to 2.0 to up to 8.0 per cent. Yogurt requires bacteria to make it, unlike either ice cream or gelato, but the point is that fat content in dairy products varies widely, even within a given category. The type and extent of sweeteners and flavourings used also vary extensively, which means that one yogurt doesn't taste like another yogurt, let alone like either ice cream or gelato, even when the same manufacturer is involved.

I've found the same variation to exist from ice cream to ice cream, and also from gelato to gelato. Not all Italian manufacturers are generous with their ingredients!!! So unless you taste at least three different manufacturers of gelato, you won't likely be able to form a conclusion as to whether you like it. It also means that sweeping statements about how much more intense in flavour gelato is than ice cream are not appropriate, since ice cream varies widely between manufacturers, as well - so comparisons are difficult. But yes,
as ira has pointed out, one generalization is true: governments regulate how much fat a product must have before it is marketed as cream or milk, and generally speaking, gelato has a fat content closer to yogurt than ice cream (but without the bacteriological process, of course.) Which makes it an ice milk product, not ice cream.

In any category, more expense doesn't necessarily mean you'll have better luck, as I'm sure you've found out with ice cream.

I'm with you Caroline. We had this debate here before, and I was verbally battered for suggesting that gelato IS ice cream (and I should know - my italian uncle was an ice cream maker!). I guess American ice cream must be something different from what the rest of the world thinks is ice cream.

Thanks Kate :-)