Gelato: Italian Ice Cream

When we were in Europe, one of the things we just had to try when we were finally in Italy was gelato, or italian ice cream!!! Yummy!!! We had the opportunity to try just about any flavor we wanted to, and one time I was able to try a little bowl of three different flavors which were: blackberry, key lime, and coffee. My favorite in that combination was the blackberry.

Last week was our very last In His Garden Bible study meeting. We met at my house and I tried my hand at making blackberry gelato for the girls. It turned out okay, but it sure could have been a lot more purple looking and could have tasted a lot more stronger of blackberry flavor. The gelato in Italy that I had was almost a K-State purple and was a combination of sorbet taste and creamy like ice cream here in the United States. What I would do differently is actually get some blackberry extract or syrup and try my hand at the blackberry gelato again.

However, Musician decided to have chocolate gelato when we were in Italy. So, she had a friend over for supper last night and asked if I could try and make chocolate gelato. Sometimes the internet can be such a handy tool. I had found the recipe for the blackberry gelato on the internet, so why not find the chocolate recipe. I did, and there were many people out there with lots of helpful tips on making it more chocolatey, etc.

I tried my hand at making the chocolate gelato, and Musician thought it was just as good as what she had in Italy, if not better!!! She's so sweet!!! It was very chocolatey and very rich.

Here is a little history about the making of ice cream, this sort of cracks me up too, because while we were in Europe your drink never had an ice cube in it, must be that they were saving all the ice to make gelato!!!!

History of ice cream: ice cream got its start in China around 3000BC. When it was first made, it was basically shaved ice with fresh fruit flavoring. Marco Polo is thought to have been the one that introduced pasta and ice cream to the Italians, but that is probably more myth than truth. It wasn't until the 17th century that the French started adding milk and cream to the mixture. This is more like what we call ice cream here in the United States.

What makes gelato, gelato, rather than just calling it ice cream, is that gelato contains more milk content than cream. Ice cream has more cream in it than milk.

Here is the chocolate gelato recipe that I used yesterday:

3 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

4 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used mini chocolate chips)

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch (I used flour)

Step 1: Combine the cocoa, cornstarch, and sugar in a medium-sized saucepan. Whisk to combine. Over medium heat, gradually add half of the milk to the sugar mixture, whisking to combine.

Step 2: Bring the milk to a low bubbling boil. Turn off the heat. Whisk in the chocolate pieces until they're melted. Add the remaining milk and the cream. Chill in the refrigerator until cool.

Step 3: Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon into a sealable storage container and freeze for 2–3 hours or until solid enough to scoop. Enjoy!