The difference between ice cream and gelato

Some of us remember when ice cream was either really good (but not great) stuff you bought at the grocery store, but was great when you bought it at an ice cream stand. Then came fancier ice creams  – bearing either artificial foreign names or home-spun Vermont humor. And, finally, came gelato. So is gelato really a new frozen dessert category or just a continuing evolution in ice cream?

Serious Eats looks at this question in their article, What’s the Difference Between Gelato and Ice Cream? As they point out, there are differences: “Compared to today’s American-style ice cream (that’s one made with egg yolks, as is basically the new standard in home recipes and commercial products), gelato has  less fat in the base and  less air churned into it during the freezing process.” This gives “gelato a more dense and milky texture that’s less creamy than ice cream.” 

We recommend you check out the article for further explanations as to how gelato differs from ice cream, and, some would argue, tastes more intense, but we wanted to especially agree with their conclusion, “Sure, we can quibble over names and definitions, but at the end of the day, it’s all one happy frozen, creamy family.”