5 things you might not know about gelato

Tatler Dining speaks to Miranda Yeoh of Paolo Paolo Gelato to learn more about this Italian sweet treat

We all know gelato as the chilly and delightful treat hailing from Italy but do we really know how it is different from ice cream? While gelato generally translates to ice cream in Italian and refers to all types of ice cream in Italy, outside Italy, gelato is used to refer to a specific genre of ice cream prepared according to Italian traditions and contains a specific set of ingredients.

To dive deeper into the art of making gelato, Tatler Dining speaks to founder of Paolo Paolo Gelato, Miranda Yeoh, to uncover five fascinating facts about this delightful treat.

Gelato ≠ ice cream

Yeoh filling up a cup with one of Paolo Paolo Gelato's most popular special flavours, peanut butter and jam toast

Above Yeoh scooping up peanut butter and jam toast gelato

"We get asked about this a lot so it’s best to start with this point," says Yeoh. "Gelato is not ice cream."

Its distinction lies in the use of milk—ice cream uses cream as its main ingredient. As a result, ice cream has a higher fat content than its Italian counterpart.

It's all in the sugar

Yeoh working with the mixer in the kitchen

Above Yeoh working with the batch freezer in the kitchen

As with many desserts, sugar is a key component in gelato. It inhibits the water content in the gelato from freezing. "Because of this, you can't just have less sugar to make it less sweet," explains Yeoh.

To combat this, gelato makers experiment with different types of sugar to achieve the desired amount of sweetness.

Smooth sorbets

Above Paolo Paolo Gelato's flavours rotate weekly

Contrary to popular belief, sorbet has a smooth and uniform texture much like the regular milk-based gelato. "We've heard from customers that there is a general assumption that sorbets, which are water-based dairy-free gelatos, are icy like slushies or granita," reveals Yeoh.

Temperature and texture

The strawberry basil is refreshing and perfectly sweet

Above Paolo Paolo Gelato's strawberry basil

How gelato is served also differs from the way ice cream is served. Instead of the typical ice cream scoop, a spade—a flat large spoon—is used to scoop up the gelato.

"Gelato has a soft, elastic texture," says Yeoh. "The warmer temperature is what maintains the creamy texture of gelato."

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