After pizza, Italian gelato is perhaps the most loved food by foreigners, but also by Italians themselves. We all tend to translate gelato with ice cream. Not everyone knows that there are substantial differences between the two products. The origins of gelato are lost in the mists of time, but it is known that it was in 1870 that in the United States it developed as a production on an industrial scale. Let’s try to discover them together.

Italian gelato: the best in the word

Difference between gelato and ice cream

The production method is also different. The ice cream is produced in large quantities on an industrial level that need to be stored longer before reaching the consumer. One of the main features of this manufacturing process is deep-freezing in a large tunnel through which the ice cream increases in volume. In fact, according to the law, it is possible to incorporate air up to 100% of its weight. This allows the ice cream to melt more slowly. For this reason it can be stored for a long time and then sold. Homemade gelato is usually created in the laboratories near the gelateria, therefore it is a fresh food. It must be consumed in a few days because it cannot be stored for a long time. It is less fluffy as it does not incorporate much air, but has a more compact and denser appearance, full of flavor.

The temperature of italian gelato and ice cream

The serving temperatures of Italian gelato and ice cream differ. Servers offer Italian gelato at a temperature a few degrees higher than ice cream, which helps to better savor the taste and understand the flavors more easily. Manufacturers store ice cream as frozen food, often adding preservatives not found in Italian gelato. Homemade gelato does not crystallize because producers make it with a batch freezer, a machine that works at -12°C, before serving it. Producers make ice cream in continuous freezers with continuous freezing, which leads to crystallization.

The raw materials

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