Summer! Just the right time for a fresh, hand-made gelato.

Summer! Just the right time for a fresh, hand-made gelato.

Summer is starting to set in, and the warm winds are blowing more and more people into the hand-made gelato parlours in search of some respite. What can we do to satisfy them? A good gelato-maker knows that by offering authentic flavours, crafted with passion and seasonal fruits, he’ll be giving his customers much more than a moment of refreshment, but a cornucopia of iced flavour! Need some advice? Here are some seasonal flavours:

Berries
Raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, redcurrant ... berries are not often used in gelato parlours, because they are so expensive, but the results are amazing!
If you use fresh fruits, the percentage in the mixture has to be between 45 and 55%, depending on how much water they already contain.
With its slightly tart flavour, gelato made with quality products has a gentle pastel hue, very natural-looking with plenty of seeds.
It combines perfectly with fiordilatte, chocolate and whipped cream. 

Peach
The peach (Prunus persica) is a tree native to China. It produces exceptional fruits, that are very pleasing to the palate, but also delicate and juicy, excellent for making sorbets and granitas, but also a fantastic gelato!
As well as common peaches, the most common variety available commercially (from June to September) are nectarines, with their smooth, shiny skins.
The percentage of fresh fruit should be at least 50%, and the end result is a fresh and delicate flavor which combines with virtually any other flavour, especially with blackberries and vanilla.
Give it a try and you will be hooked!

Apricot
Excellent picnic fare or a healthy snack, delicious freshly picked from the tree, apricots belong to the same family as peaches and cherries, and shares their strengths and weaknesses: full of flavour and rich in vitamins, it is sensitive to changes in the weather, to mold and parasites.
Apricot flavours need their acidity to be regulated and the water content of the raw material needs to be checked before balancing the mixture.
The perfect match? Banana, fiordilatte and strawberry.

Coconut
Tasting fresh coconut brings back memories of eating slices in the shade of a beach umbrella, or if we had a more exotic childhood, of eating freshly picked coconut straight from the tree in far-off lands.
Coconut pulp has an intense flavour and is naturally cooling and sweet.
Obviously, if you use fresh coconut, decide whether to use the milk, which you can also save for sorbets and granitas. Excellent combined with chocolate, but berries and fiordilatte are also outstanding “cone companions”.

Melon
The epitome of summer fruit, melons grow and ripen from June to September.
Containing plenty of sugar, water, fibre and vitamins, and used at a concentration of 50-60%, the fresh fruit gives a refreshing sweet hand-made gelato, excellent either on its own, or with whipped cream, pistachio and red berries.

Summer! Just the right time for a fresh, hand-made gelato.
Brioche with gelato
Brioche with gelato

Sliced open and filled with gelato, with cream, or even with both, the brioche with gelato is a typical Sicilian speciality which has recently been exported to the rest of Italy; it is becoming increasingly common to see gelato shops offering this delicacy, with regional variations such as croissants and buns or the truly Sicilian “tuppo” brioche.

Vegan gelato, the new trend of Italian gelato-making.
Vegan gelato, the new trend of Italian gelato-making.

The last SIGEP, the International Homemade Gelato, Pastry, and Bakery Fair, in Rimini, saw a trend among all of the major companies in the industry to offer products – and in some cases an entire product line – for vegans. 

Part 2 - Pasteurization and homogenization of italian gelato
Part 2 - Pasteurization and homogenization of italian gelato

After selecting, assaying and processing the raw materials with the other ingredients, the next stages in making hand-made gelato are pasteurization and homogenization.

How to select ingredients for your gelato
How to select ingredients for your gelato

Why do manufacturer of ingredients for gelato parlours offer such a wide range of different bases? As user requirements differ so widely, the products are designed to help the gelato-maker to get consistently balanced mixtures, for creamier, more scoopable gelato.

Part 3 -Maturation and Batch freezing of Italian gelato
Part 3 -Maturation and Batch freezing of Italian gelato

After pasteurization and homogenization, it is time for the mixture to undergo maturation and batch-freezing, which are crucial stages for a good hand-made gelato.

Investments, costs and revenues in opening a gelato shop
Investments, costs and revenues in opening a gelato shop

Over the course of time, Italian gelato has earned itself a reputation for continuous innovation in production methods, technologies and ingredients, often dictated by the needs of both practising and would-be gelato-makers.

How to make a good hand-made gelato
How to make a good hand-made gelato

Making gelato used to involve a machine known as a sorbetière, refrigerated using ice and salt, with the mix being batch frozen by hand using a long spatula-shaped stick. Luckily, things have changed quite a bit since then! 

Selecting the gelato ingredients
Selecting the gelato ingredients

Choosing the right raw materials is a fundamental part of making outstanding hand-made gelato: the finest milk, eggs and sugar, and the best semi-finished ingredients and semi-finished products are a key component in the creativity of every craftsman.

The role of semi-finished products in gelato-making
The role of semi-finished products in gelato-making

Compound ingredients for gelato or semi-finished products are mixtures of ingredients in powder or paste that the gelato-maker keeps by his side when preparing mixtures (stabilization) and giving them flavor.

Liquorice: a tasty hand-made gelato
Liquorice: a tasty hand-made gelato

Creamy, sweet and tasty, liquorice is one of the most popular hand-made gelato flavours. With its unique and refined taste, liquorice is not only used for its therapeutic properties, but is also a great ingredient for many recipes in the gelato parlour.

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