gelati

[trillium]

Hi Pamela,

Thanks for taking the time to be here out of your busy preserving schedule. I know how hectic this time of year can be, I just finished my pomarola and prepared 3 kg of chanterelles for drying last night. I think the idea of a book on Tuscan preserving would be fabulous!

I really enjoyed your "Gelato!" book, especially the catus pear sorbetto, and I'm wondering if you could talk about recreating that dense gooey texture of good gelati at home. I use a Krups automatic ice cream maker and it makes good enough ice cream/gelati but the texture is too light and fluffy to make it "gelati". Do you have any tips on making a denser textured dessert that is closer to what I've eaten in Italy?

regards,

trillium

[pamela in tuscany]

oh, chanterelles! how wonderful that would be. We're just hoping to get a little more rain followed by some sun to get out there and find some porcini.

Thank you for your comments about gelato. I really think you can get good gelato out of those machines, better than ice cream. The 'light and fluffy' comes from the air that gets beaten in as it stirs. Transfer it to a stainless steel container and tap it on the counter a few times to settle it and see what happens. Personally, I am satisfied with it right out of the machine. For me, the quality that makes it gelato is the fact that with lower fat it can be served warmer. Warmer means that your tastebuds don't get frozen and you taste the fundamental flavor. Don't get me wrong about the fat content.... I love fat in foods, but frozen fat has no flavor. Lower fat in this case means that your mouth is not coated with a layer of frozen fat which masks that base flavor and doesn't feel all that nice.

My favorite gelato is to toast and chop pistachio nuts, put them in cold milk with some sugar, heat it all up, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the milk is scalding. Cool it down, put in the fridge overnight. The next day, strain it and make gelato. The method is called infusion and the milk absorbs all of the flavor of the pistacchio.

6 ounces shelled pistachio

3 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

Edited September 24, 2004 by pamela in tuscany (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

Have you ever ground up the pistachios and included them in the gelato?

[pamela in tuscany]

sure, why not. but use fresh toasted ones. The ones soaking overnight have given up all of their flavor to the milk.

[trillium]

sure, why not. but use fresh toasted ones. The ones soaking overnight have given up all of their flavor to the milk.

←

Thanks for the hints. I was freezing my gelati solid and then warming it back up to eat, so maybe I need to eat it straight out of the ice cream maker. Yum, pistachio gelati, that's a favorite too! How I wish I had brought more pistachios back from Sicily. I've been thinking about trying a similiar infusion method for toasted cocoa nibs.

regards,

trillium

[docsconz]

My favorite has always been hazelnut. Unfortunately I didn't have an ice cream maker when I brought back hazelnuts from Campania last year. Most of the ice creams I've read talk about letting the ice cream "set" before eating it. Pamela, any comments?

[pamela in tuscany]

Thanks for the hints.  I was freezing my gelati solid and then warming it back up to eat, so maybe I need to eat it straight out of the ice cream maker.  Yum, pistachio gelati, that's a favorite too!  How I wish I had brought more pistachios back from Sicily.  I've been thinking about trying a similiar infusion method for toasted cocoa nibs. 

regards,

trillium

←

gelato doesn't freeze well! Eat it at once, and eat it all!

[pamela in tuscany]

My favorite has always been hazelnut. Unfortunately I didn't have an ice cream maker when I brought back hazelnuts from Campania last year. Most of the ice creams I've read talk about letting the ice cream "set" before eating it. Pamela, any comments?

←

Ice cream can freeze due to the (by definition, minimum 11%) fat content. Lower fat mixtures like my pistachio gelato won't freeze without stablilizers and it needs to be consumed within the day. That is why truly artisanal gelato producers here make it fresh every day. As that is economically difficult, many add stabilizers to carry it to the next day(s).