TASTE OF ITALY: GELATO VS. ICE CREAM

Gelato is the Italian name for Ice Cream but it has some differences which makes one distinct from the other.

GELATO: NIKON D90 AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm

ISO 800   40 mm    0EV   f/6.3   1/160

CONE: NIKON D90 AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm

ISO 800   35 mm    0EV   f/6.3   1/160

GELATO IN CONE: NIKON D90 AF-S DX VR 

Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm   ISO 800   70 mm    0EV   f/8   1/640

I had the joy of experiencing the Gelato in Rome. As they say, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!"

You can get a gelato from a mobile ice cream van or from a little ice cream store down the street.

So what is the difference between the Gelato and the Ice Cream?

I guess, the best answer is to lift this from the Wikipedia and here goes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelato

Gelato (Italian pronunciation: [dʒeˈlaːto]; plural: gelati) is the Italian word for ice cream. Italians use the word gelato to mean a sweet treat that is served frozen. 

It is correct to say that most gelato is different from the traditional recipe of ice cream because it is lighter having a lower butterfat content than traditional, factory made ice cream. Homemade gelato typically contains 4–8% butterfat, versus 14% for ice cream in the United States. Depending on recipes and the person making it, dairy based gelato contains 16–24% sugar. Most ice cream in the United States contains 12 to 16% sugar. The sugar content in homemade gelato, as in traditional ice cream, is balanced with the water content to act as an anti-freeze to prevent it from freezing solid. Types of sugar used include sucrose, dextrose, and invert sugar to control apparent sweetness. Typically, gelato -- like any other ice cream -- needs a stabilizing base. Egg yolks are used in yellowcustard-based gelato flavors, including zabaione and creme caramel. Non-fat milk solids are also added to gelato to stabilize the base.

Unlike most commercial ice creams in the world, from a process point of view, gelato is typically frozen very quickly in individual small batches while the conventional ice cream is frozen with a continuous assembly line freezer. Churning during the freezing process incorporates air into the mix making it lighter. The added air is called overrun. The overrun in gelato is generally 20–35%. The gelato lower overrun (compared to ice cream) results in a more expensive, denser product and with more intense flavors.

Gelato = = Yum, yum, yum, Oh I mean, Delizioso (in Italian) !!!