Sweet combinations: affogatos

Sweet combinations: affogatos

If you are looking to grasp every opportunity to grow professionally and try to meet the needs of your customer base, affogatos are sweet combinations that will delight your customers.

Without jeopardising the taste of hand-made gelato, an affogato offers an alternative to the classic gelato cone or cup: a sublime, creamy variant with a touch of creativity. Affogatos are delicious cups, ideal as a snack or dessert as an alternative to simple gelato.

Decorated to taste with coffee beans, chocolate chips, berries, whipped cream or biscuits, affogatos retain all the flavour of a hand-made gelato, enriched with coffee, fresh fruit or liqueurs.

There are different variations on the theme, the most classic and famous surely being coffee affogato. Made with a base of creamy hand-made gelato – crema, coffee, vanilla or chocolate – the cup is then covered with a shot of coffee, which slightly melts the gelato and makes the affogato even creamier and more inviting. To make the dish more colourful and to bring with it a touch of imagination, add whipped cream and garnish with a few coffee beans.

Chocolate affogato is the perfect choice for customers who love the rich taste of chocolate melting with the sweetness of the gelato, creating a smooth, creamy cup. Best with the creamier hand-made gelato flavours, such as vanilla, fiordilatte, coffee or chocolate. Once the chocolate affogato is ready, it can be decorated with whipped cream, covered with a dusting of cocoa and milk, dark or white chocolate chips.

A trendy combination for those wanting to indulge their habit of a glass of whisky, but without missing out on the pleasure of a good hand-made gelato, is the whisky affogato. Various creamy hand-made gelato flavours go well “drowned” (which is what affogato literally means) in the world's most popular alcoholic drink to give the unique experience of a strong flavour, sweetened by the creaminess of the hand-made gelato. A perfect combination to decorate with whipped cream and present in a cup together with a biscuit.

In order to satisfy every taste and every need, the range is completed by fruit affogatos: strawberries, cherries or berries. A good choice for the more health-conscious customers worried about their waistlines who have a healthy and genuine diet, a fruit affogato is a temptation that is hard to refuse. Prepared with a base of creamy, fruit or yoghurt hand-made gelato, fruit affogatos are covered by a cascade of strawberries, red berries or cherries in syrup and their respective sauces. And for those who occasionally succumbs to the temptation of gluttony, add whipped cream and a wafer for good measure. 

Sweet combinations: affogatos
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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