YumSugar

You Say Gelato, I Say Ice Cream: What's the Difference?

Susannah Chen — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:17:38 PDT

Over a recent dinner party dessert of assorted gelatos, a burning (or shall I say freezing?) question arose. If the word "gelato" isn't simply Italian for ice cream, then what exactly is the difference between the two frozen desserts?

The answer, in short, is air - and fat. During the churning process, ice cream's volume is increased by more than half. In contrast, gelato is churned at a slower speed, which means not as much air is whipped into the mixture; this helps gelato achieve a consistency that's so dense, it requires a warmer serving temperature than its counterpart.

Ice cream also contains more fat than gelato. By USDA standards, ice cream must contain a minimum of 10 percent milk fat, although most brands contain somewhere between 14 and 17 percent. Gelato, which often has almost no cream at all, contains roughly 3 to 10 percent fat. Less cream and air means the Italian dessert tastes decadent and more intensely flavored without as much fat. Which frozen dessert's consistency do you prefer?

Eating at Movie or TV Locales: Love It or Hate It?

YumSugar — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 07:00:29 PDT

Before Eat Pray Love had even come out in theaters, female fans were already flocking to the hole-in-the-wall gelateria author Elizabeth Gilbert visits in her memoir the movie is based on.

We've seen this foodie fandom before, with Magnolia Bakery in Sex and the City, Seinfeld's Soup Nazi, San Diego's Kansas City Barbeque from Top Gun, the famous "o" scene in When Harry Met Sally at Katz's Deli in New York, Mystic Pizza, and the list goes on.

In my experience, once eateries are immortalized by the big (or little) screen, they get overly crowded, overly commercialized, and the quality decreases. But that's not always the case! What has been your experience?

Would You Rather Eat Gelato or Ice Cream?

partysugar — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:30:15 PDT

Photos by flickr user foodistablog and flickr user WayTru

Come Party With Me: Annabelle's Birthday - Desserts

partysugar — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:45:03 PDT

To celebrate her fourth birthday, FabSugar and her Frenchie, Annabelle, are going to make dog-friendly cupcakes. Annabelle loves to cook, so they'll be using Francesca and Sharkey's (Martha Stewart's Frenchies) recipe. The cupcakes are a mixture of ground, dried dog food, carrots, and peas. For the people in attendance, Fab's mom is taking a tip from Giada de Laurentiis and will be putting together a gelato bar!

She'll make a simple chocolate sauce and freshly whipped cream. Then she'll set out an assortment of toppings like chopped nuts, peanut butter chips, and rainbow sprinkles. The guests can make a sundae to their liking. Sound fun? Get the recipe.

In Italy, Obama Daughters Dabble in Gelato-Making

YumSugar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:00:02 PDT

Meet Malia and Sasha Obama, first children - and future gelato makers? While President Obama was in Rome, Italy, for a G-8 summit, the US embassy contacted the Italian capital's most renowned gelato parlor, Giolitti, to arrange an insider's ice cream tour for the commander in chief's daughters. At the historic gelateria, Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, donned aprons to become frozen-dessert makers for the afternoon. The sisters, accompanied by their grandmother, made blackberry and banana gelato. According to parlor owner Nazareno Giolitti, "Right after they made gelato, they tasted it straight from the machine, and the youngest one said, "It really tastes like blackberries." The girls, who Giolitti said "ate with great gusto," left with a whopping 6.6 pounds each of their ice cream, and took some home for the first lady.

Giolitti later showed a local television station a tub of some of the blackberry flavor the Obama girls created, saying that the leftover ice cream was immediately picked up by customers who wanted their cones filled with it. If I were him, I would have sold it for a killing on eBay.

Are you as envious as I am that the Obama girls had the opportunity of a lifetime at Rome's most famous gelateria?

Definition: Semifreddo

partysugar — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:50:03 PDT

Semifreddo
The phrase "half cold" in Italian, a semifreddo is any dessert including cake, ice cream, fruit, whipped cream, or custard that's partially chilled or somewhat frozen. The term also refers to a type of ice cream sandwich in which toasted croissants act as the cookie or bread base. In Italy, the most common ingredient in a semifreddo is gelato.

Source

A Whole Lotta Gelato

YumSugar — Fri, 30 May 2008 05:33:07 PDT

It may not lend itself to a clever rhyme like ice cream, but I'd still be willing to scream pretty loudly for gelato. May is actually National Gelato Month, but you can scoop up this dense, rich Italian ice cream all Summer long. It's fairly simple to make at home, or you can use store bought gelato to create your own desserts. For some ideas on how to enjoy gelato, just click "start."

Gelato vs. Soft Serve Ice Cream

FitSugar — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 13:30:00 PDT

I have a soft spot (no pun intended) for soft, creamy desserts. Summertime weather just screams soft serve ice cream in a cone with rainbow sprinkles, and when I tried gelato for the first time, I fell in love with that too. So I want to know...

Yummy Link: Grom Comes to the US

YumSugar — Tue, 08 May 2007 08:32:32 PDT

Have you heard of Grom? It's an Italian gelateria chain that opened their first US store this weekend in New York. You think Pinkberry is hot? I have a feeling Grom is going to be even hotter. - Serious Eats

Italian Food Break Down: Numbers to Know Before You Mangia!

FitSugar — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:00:00 PST

Who doesn't love a slice of cheese pizza, Lasagna or Anitpasto? And those Italian desserts like gelato or a cannoli - they're just so delicious, it's hard to hold back.

Each of these are based on a regular restaurant portion:

Antipasto Salad: 136 cals, 8g fat, 13g carbs
Bruschetta (1 piece with tomato and basil): 102 cals, 3g fat, 17g carbs
Chicken Cacciatore: 370 cals, 22g fat, 4g carbs
Capresse Salad: 154 cals, 11.8g fat, 4.2g carbs
Eggplant Parmigiana: 670 cals, 32g fat, 75g carbs
Fettuccine Alfredo: 780 cals, 55g fat, 53g carbs
Parmesan Garlic Bread: 259 cals, 13.4g fat, 29.2g carbs
Lasagna (meat): 400 cals, 17g fat, 36 cals
Lasagna (vegetable): 250 cals, 13g fat, 21g carbs
Manicotti (cheese and tomato): 230 cals, 14g fat, 18g carbs
Minestrone Soup: 260 cals, 6g fat, 28g carbs
Spinach and Mushroom Risotto: 219 cals, 5g fat, 37g carbs
Pizza (1 slice cheese): 222 cals, 5g fat, 35g carbs
Pizza (1 slice pepperoni): 249 cals, 7.5g fat, 35g carbs

Want to see the rest? Then

read more Ravioli: 300 cals, 12g fat, 30 carbs Spaghetti with tomato sauce: 540 cals, 13g fat, 105g carbs Spaghetti with meatsauce: 650 cals, 16g fat, 90g carbs Cheese Tortellini: 530 cals, 20g fat, 74g carbs Veal Parmigiana: 350 cals, 20g fat, 5g carbs Dessserts: Cannoli: 142 cals, 7.1g fat, 14.2g carbs Almond Biscotto: 110 cals, 2.5g fat, 21g carbs Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato: 241 cals, 16g fat, 24 carbs Raspberry Napoleon: 243 cals, 4g fat, 34g carbs Pasticiotti: 305 cals, 12.4g fat, 42.5g carbs Tiramisu: 310 cals, 15g fat, 39 carbs