Ice Cream and Gelato: Industry and Art

If it can be accepted that both Chevrolet and Ferrari create automobiles with four wheels and both fulfill their utilitarian function as primary modes of transportation, then it can also be accepted that ice cream and Italian gelato are also similar in that they are both cold, tasty, and based on dairy products.

Yet, where Chevrolet's automobiles are functional and dependable to a fault, Ferrari's automobiles are works of art crafted in the tradition of Michelangelo's David or Botticelli's Birth of Venus. And here also is the difference in character and quality of gelato and ice cream.

Gelato is a craft requiring the talents of an artisan to wed the various ingredients of gelato into a union of flavors that assault the palate in the same manner that Ferraris demand envious stares from those who do not own one. Ice cream is delicious but gelato is manna and the individuals who partake of it are connoisseurs who share a secret pleasure in an art gallery of tangy delight.

Typical ice cream is flavorful and mass produced to appeal to a wide variety of consumers who enjoy its diverse flavors and cooling effect on hot, summer days. Ice cream is made from several primary ingredients that are both necessary and industrial in character. Water usually forms the largest percentage of any given ice cream-usually between 50 and 80% of the total ingredients.

Sugar is the second most component of most ice creams which results in ice cream's sometimes problematic relationship with people intent on losing weight. Ice cream manufacturers then add an assortment of milk or serum solids which are what contain most of the proteins and carbohydrates in dairy products.

Fat constitutes the rest of ice cream's primary ingredients, usually 2 to 15% but an emulsifying agent and stabilizer is added in small quantities to solidify the ice cream. The mixture is then subjected to an overrun process which introduces air into the mixture providing ice cream with its smooth texture. However, the overrun process creates a product that is lower in weight by volume and increases the coarseness of overall texture.

Many ice creams are usually around 50% air by volume due to overrun. Thus, in combination with other ingredients for flavoring and texture, ice cream is an enjoyable treat the entire family can enjoy together or in moments of private self-indulgence.

On the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel God can be seen giving life to Adam with the point of a finger and it is this same sort of creative brilliance with which gelato is created. Where most ice creams are mass produced, gelato is crafted by artisans, or gelataio, in moments of inspiration.

Ice cream's ingredients are suburban in origin such as most ice cream manufacturer's use of vanillin extract in place of actual vanilla nut for flavoring as opposed to gelato's ingredients which utilize real food items and spices for flavorings.

A gelato is made from the same basic ingredients as ice cream such as a base of milk, some sugar, and cream. However, gelato depends on the highest quality food products to add to and augment flavor like Ecuadorian chocolate and even more esoteric flavorings like lemon and black pepper to craft seasonal products.

Furthermore, while some overrun is necessary to provide gelato with its creamy, dense texture, the air content of most gelatos should never exceed 35% by volume but is most often much less than that. Gelato is heavier on the tongue and melts faster than ice cream but comes inundated with bursts of flavors that are natural in origin and not dependent on artificial flavorings or in boosted sugar content to elevate the zest factor.

Gelato is edible art but its connoisseurs form a secret club of aficionados that are taking applications for membership. The club is open to all and the cost of membership is only a few dollars at the local gelateria but the reward is a lifelong passion for a healthy and fascinating desert.