Nothing screams hot, humid days and long firefly-filled nights quite like a swirled tower of cool, creamy ice cream. And while we have our classic nostalgic ice cream truck novelty bars, and our cones of soft-served delight, there is more than one sweet frozen treat. The 80s, 90s, and 2000s, all saw the reign (and fall) of frozen custard and frozen yogurt, but the past several years have seen Italy’s gelato make it to the mainstream stage. What makes gelato and ice cream different, or are they even that different at all?
Gelato in Italian translates to ice cream, but it is far from its American counterpart. While both gelato and ice cream use milk, cream, and sugar, the similarities stop there.
Outside Philly-style ice cream, most American ice creams call for cream and egg yolks, which create a distinct creaminess and almost a custard-like quality. On the other hand, gelato uses quite a smaller amount of cream and egg yolks, creating a lighter base.
You may think that gelato, with a lower fat content, would be lighter in texture, but that isn’t the case. Gelato is churned at a slow speed, meaning it is whipped with less air and has a dense texture. Outside of classic frozen custard, standard American ice cream is churned at a much faster speed, creating a whipped, fluffy consistency from high levels of air.
As previously mentioned, gelato has less fat, meaning flavors from fruits, nuts, and chocolates have a stronger, more prominent taste than American ice cream, whose higher fat content coats the tongue and mutes the flavorings and mix-ins.
The final difference is the price factor, with less air, gelato is a denser product and sells at a higher price per gram than its creamy American counterpart.
Whether you choose the tried and true ice cream or take a detour from tradition, you’ll win with both ice cream and gelato.