Hand-made gelato even for the lactose-intolerant

Hand-made gelato even for the lactose-intolerant

Hand-made gelato is a tasty food, extremely popular with consumers.

If you have a sweet tooth, but you are lactose intolerant, giving up the luxury of gelato is a torment. So, at your gelato parlour make sure you also have gelatos for all sorts of needs.

Lactose intolerance happens when the body can no longer digest lactose, the main sugar (or disaccharide) found in milk and dairy products. Lactose digestion problems are a consequence of the lack of the enzyme lactase in the body. Lactase’s job is to break down lactose into simple sugars, which are then easily absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract.

Lactose intolerance is becoming an increasing issue in recent years, affecting all sorts of people no matter what their gender, age or origins, and lactose intolerants often have difficulty finding food to fit in with their dietary requirements. However, if you are looking to gain a good market position and to be able to satisfy every single customer, your business needs to serve something for those with special dietary requirements.

So gelato parlours need to take note, because of course hand-made gelato is a food made with milk. But do not despair, as you can make a good hand-made gelato without using milk or dairy products (such as buttermilk, cream, butter, casein, lactalbumin, etc.).

For example, fruit-flavoured gelato does not have to be made with milk so in that case it can be safely enjoyed by lactose intolerants.

There are also ingredients such as soy, which can be used as an excellent substitute for milk when making hand-made gelato. Soy enables you to create delicious hand-made gelato in a variety of flavours, so that you do not have to lose those gelato lovers whose intolerance would otherwise mean having to give up the pleasure of eating a hand-made gelato.

As well as gelatos, a gelato parlour can also serve granitas, ice lollies and sorbets as a good alternative to foods such as hand-made gelato which are made with lactose.

Satisfying customers at your gelato parlour by trying to meet the diverse needs of consumers is a very important way of retaining customers and acquiring new ones. Your consumers need to know they can rely on a healthy and genuine hand-made gelato, and that you are willing to cater for anyone’s needs.

Hand-made gelato even for the lactose-intolerant
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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