While there are generally no doubts about natural ingredients (except for concerns about quality and availability!), compound ingredients still raise many questions—especially among gelato makers with a long tradition in the craft. They often wonder: "But how come we used to use only locust bean gum and the gelato was still good?" Let’s clarify what these ingredients are and whether we should really be nostalgic for the “gelato of the past.”
The need to preserve food dates back to ancient times, when humans used rudimentary and later more advanced techniques. With the manipulation of these foods (i.e., the combination and processing of naturally occurring raw materials), taste became more refined, leading to the rise of gastronomy: it was no longer enough to simply have food—it had to be delicious!
Compared to human history, gelato is relatively recent, but in recent years it has quickly become a widely consumed food, appreciated by all palates. The original combination of milk, cream, sugar, and fruit has evolved over time, seeking the perfect texture (spatolability), digestibility, and flavor.
If we compared gelato from 50 years ago to that of a modern artisanal gelateria, we would immediately notice great improvements in body, spreadability, chewiness, and sweetness.
This progress is thanks to techniques, machinery, and carefully balanced and selected ingredients: stabilizers, emulsifiers, thickeners, bases, and neutrals have entered the workshop and revolutionized the craft.
Let’s go step by step.
Thickeners
Thickeners are hydrocolloids capable of absorbing large amounts of water, forming a network that increases the viscosity of the watery mass. Examples include modified starches, pectins, alginates, agar agar, tragacanth gum, arabic gum, carrageenans, locust bean gum, guar gum, xanthan gum, and more.
Stabilizers
Stabilizers are substances that make an aqueous mixture stable by forming a network once hydrated, capable of trapping water—particularly the free water not bound to sugars, proteins, or fats. Examples of stabilizers that also act as thickeners include locust bean and guar gum, alginates, carrageenans, agar, tragacanth, xanthan gum, and maltodextrins. Stabilizing gelling agents include pectins and gelatin.
Neutrals
A technical term referring to single additives or mixtures of additives with a neutral taste, added to gelato mixtures during preparation (at about 0.3-0.5%). Neutrals are typically included in bases.
Maltodextrins
Maltodextrins are obtained by controlled hydrolysis of nutritive saccharides, purified, concentrated, and then dehydrated. The most used maltodextrin in gelato is 18 DE (Dextrose Equivalent). It is very useful for helping the gelato solidify faster and making it more resistant to temperature fluctuations. It also has interesting anti-crystallization properties and a neutral taste, making it suitable for dietetic applications.
Xanthan Gum
A stabilizer with strong hydrocolloid properties, chemically stable and highly water-binding, which causes gelato to melt more slowly in the mouth, giving a less intense cold sensation. It is usually blended with guar and locust bean gum.
Tragacanth Gum
This gum is a hydrocolloid used in food technology for its thickening action. Extracted in liquid form from some legumes native to the Near East, it is available commercially as flakes or powder. It dissolves in hot water and must be added to the mixture during pasteurization (at about 0.3-0.4%). It is one of the oldest additives used in gelato, with references even found in early 20th-century pastry books.
Agar Agar
Extracted from seaweed growing in temperate coastal waters of China, Korea, and America. Agar dissolves in hot water but is insoluble in cold water. In gelato production, it should be used in very low doses (0.2-0.3%), mixed well with sugars and added hot.
Carrageenans
Thickeners extracted from a type of red seaweed (Irish moss), mainly harvested on the coasts of Ireland, Brittany, Canada, and the USA. Of the three existing types (K, J, and λ), type K is preferred in gelato but always as a complement to other stabilizers.
Locust Bean Gum (E 410)
Along with guar gum, locust bean gum is the most widely used thickener in gelato stabilizer blends. It is extracted from the carob pod. This gum has a very high thickening power, absorbing about 90-100 times its weight in water. The commercially available form requires high temperatures to fully exert its thickening function.
Dextrose Monohydrate
A monosaccharide obtained from the complete hydrolysis of starch; chemically known as D-glucose but called glucose 100 DE in gelato making. When used in a mix, it lowers the freezing point compared to sucrose and, thanks to its low molecular weight, improves gelato structure by facilitating air incorporation. It is usually used at about 30% in milk-based gelato and up to 10% in fruit-based gelato.
The preparation of gelato has changed over time, but it is always the artisan’s skill that makes the difference.