I prepare ice creams and sorbets at the restaurant in which i work, and basically, as everyone has said, Gelato generally does not cream as its base. However, gelato does contain more egg yolks than traditional ice cream. Depending on the quantity used, generally Gelato contains almost 3 times as much egg yolks than ice cream, however, due to this fact, Gelato isnt exactly a low-fat alternative to ice cream. Of course, each chef has his or own method on how to make a true Gelato. The joke is, There are more methods to making a Gelato as there are Italians who can throw an insult (LOL). But seriously, the real difference aside from the omission of cream is the churning process. Most ice creams machines here in America are not equipped to make a proper gelato. They spin at too high of speeds therefore whipping too much air into the base. If you have an ice cream machine that has a variable speed control of the churner, you might be able to make a good gelato. But even if you don't you can still make delicious ice creams. Here is my tip for ice creams in general and it has never failed me at work: Do not heat your egg yolks and sugar over a double boiler. Unless you watch it very carefully, you will have a good chance of curdling (cooking the eggs). Instead here's what I do: I whisk in the sugar, egg yolks, and flavorings in a bowl. Then I place the mixture in the cooler to cool completely. Once cooled, I boil my milk and/or heavy cream until almost foaming over. Then I add the cream/milk mixture into the cooled yolks and sugar. The heat of the cream/milk combined with the cold yolk mixture will sort of balance each other out so that while the yolks will cook enough to destroy any potential bacteria, it wont get too hot to cook the yolks. Whisk until the mixture is encorporated, then cool down and place in ice cream machine. My method is 4 cups cream (or whole milk), 14 egg yolks, 3/4 cup sugar, and then whatever (non-fruit) flavorings you wish to add. As mentioned by some chefs on this forum, do not use egg yolks for a fruit-based ice cream/ gelato. In fact, I've come to the pont now that whenever I make a fruit-based ice cream, I skip the cream altogether and instead make a sobet. I have a devised a method of making fruit sorbets that actually have the texture of ice cream, without actually even having any cream in it at all. But that's another topic.  |