Gelato
Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox food
Gelato (Template:IPA; Template:Literally) refers to a specific type of ice cream of Italian origin. In Italian, Template:Lang is the common word for all types of ice cream. Artisanal gelato in Italy generally contains 6–9% butterfat, which is lower than other styles of frozen dessert.<ref>"Calorie e valori nutrizionali del gelato", Paginemediche [1]</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Gelato typically contains 35% air (substantially less than American-style ice cream) and more flavoring than other types of frozen desserts, giving it an intense flavor with creamy, smooth texture, density and richness that distinguishes it from other ice creams.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Goff-1997-Colloidal">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Goff-1993-Polysaccharides">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Name
In Italian, Template:Lang means simply 'frozen' and is the generic word for any type or style of ice cream.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In English, however, the term has come to be used to refer to a specific style of ice cream derived from the Italian artisanal tradition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
Template:Main Cosimo Ruggeri and Bernardo Buontalenti were 16th-century contemporaries who are credited by some sources with the invention of gelato,<ref name="ilforchettiere-chi-invento-il-gelato">Template:Cite web</ref> while other sources claims that Sicilian cooks gradually modified the sherbet recipe over time, giving birth to the earliest form of gelato.<ref name="isbn-0199313393">Template:Cite book</ref>
In Florence, Cosimo Ruggeri is credited with creating one of the first gelati, Template:LangTemplate:Void , at the court of Catherine de' Medici, in a competition with the theme "Template:Lang" (Template:Literally).<ref name="aboutflorence-gelato">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="isbn-9788896027271">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="destinationflorence-gelato">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="firenzetoday-invenzione-gelato">Template:Cite web</ref>
In the 1530s, Catherine de' Medici took gelato to Paris.<ref name="reuters-gelato-museum">Template:Cite news</ref>
Around 1565, Bernardo Buontalenti, an innovator in ice conservation, made a sorbet with ice, salt, lemon, wine, milk, sugar, egg, and honey, "plus orange and bergamot flavouring".<ref name="j.ctv18msqmt.16">Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1686,<ref name="destinationflorence-gelato"/> Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, a Sicilian,<ref name="palermo-PROCOPIO">Template:Cite web</ref> brought his grandfather Francesco's<ref name="taccuinigastrosofici-Procopio-gelato">Template:Cite web</ref> gelato-making machine to Paris, opened Café Procope and introduced the dessert.<ref name="isbn-9788868741860">Template:Cite book</ref> Procopio obtained French citizenship, and a royal license from Louis XIV, making him the sole producer of the frozen dessert in the kingdom.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="isbn-9788804447283">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="oclc-963873066">Template:Cite book</ref> Being one of the first to sell gelato directly to the public<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> (prior to then it was reserved only for nobles),<ref name ="gelateria">Template:Cite book</ref> and making it known in the rest of Europe, Procopio is sometimes referred to as "the father of Italian gelato".<ref>Moramarco, p. 208. The father of Italian gelato is Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, a Sicilian aristocrat who established a chain of coffee houses throughout Europe in the late seventeenth century.</ref>
In 1945, in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Bruto Carpigiani began selling gelato-making equipment,<ref name="latimes-gelato-20100923">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="italymagazine">Template:Cite web</ref> and created Motogelatiera, the first automated gelato machine.<ref name="Carpigiani">Template:Cite web</ref> The batch freezer made it easier to store frozen desserts.<ref name="Carpigiani" /> Carpigiani is a big manufacturer of gelato machinery.<ref name="italymagazine" />
The largest ice cream cone in the world was created in 2011 in Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, during the 32nd edition of the International Exhibition of Handcrafted Gelato, Pastry, and Bakery. The cone, made with over 2000 wafers, was Template:Convert tall and weighed Template:Convert. Leading the team of seven artisans who accomplished the feat was the chocolatier Mirco Della Vecchia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Flavors
The original Template:Lang is a plain, base ice cream with no flavor and no eggs added. Template:Lang is Template:Lang gelato with chocolate chunks. Traditional flavors of gelato include Template:Lang ('custard'), vanilla, chocolate, hazelnut, almond, and pistachio.<ref name="Sensory-Gelato">Template:Cite journal</ref> Modern flavors include a variety of fruit flavors.
Commercial production
The process of making gelato is complex, starting with a custard base, mixed with milk and sugar, heating the ingredients to 85 °C (185 °F) for pasteurization. Then, it is lowered to 5 °C (41 °F) and mixed to the desired texture. The mixed gelato is then batched in the freezer.<ref name="icecreamcalc-hardness">Template:Cite web</ref>
As with other ice creams, the sugar in gelato prevents it from freezing solid by binding to the water and interfering with the normal formation of ice crystals. This creates smaller ice crystals and results in the smooth texture of gelato.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Commercial gelati are often sweetened with inverted sugar, sucrose, dextrose or xylitol,<ref name="foodnavigator-gelato-industrial">Template:Cite news</ref> and may include a stabilizer such as guar gum.<ref name="gelatoperpassione-bilanciatura">Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- Dairy
- Template:Lang – a gelato that includes chocolate chunks
- Semifreddo – a class of semi-frozen dessert
- Parfait – a type of dessert that is similar to a semifreddo
- Sherbet – a frozen dessert made from sugar-sweetened water, milk or cream, and various flavorings
- Custard – a dessert made with cream, eggs, and vanilla
- Frozen custard – a frozen dessert made with cream and eggs
- Frozen yogurt – a frozen dessert made with a base of yogurt rather than milk
- Non-dairy
- Granita – a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water, and various flavorings
- Italian ice – also known as "water ice", a frozen dessert made from syrup concentrate or fruit purees over crushed ice
- Sorbet – called sorbetto in Italian