What does "real" Italian gelato taste and feel like?

It’s delicious but very sweet

Maybe Greg has a recipe for prune gelato that he could share. GREG!!!!!

Since tomatoes are technically a fruit, maybe Greg has a recipe for stewed tomato gelato.

Like Viggo Mortensen's cum. I know.

Mmmm dark choc gelato !

Here's my favorite recipe for Armagnac Prune Ice Cream

And my favorite recipe for tomato sorbet.

Italian gelato is sublime. The flavors tast exactly like what they are supposed to be. My favorite flavor, cantaloupe, tastes exactly like cantaloupe.

When in Italy I eat gelato twice a day.

[quote]mouthfeel

Let me introduce myself.

Comes right out of my tap, you should try mine. 😈

[quote]It was like a god of ice breathed life into the best fudge brownie you ever tasted.

Marry me, Mary!

Poor OP. Nobody got his actual question. It is regarding the texture.

And everybody carries on about flavor and even other desserts altogether.

And yet I do not see you answering his question either, r12.

I'll answer OP's question to the best of my ability. Yes, in my experience of gelato in Italy (e.g. La Pergola in Florence or Fatamorgana in Rome), there's an elasticity to the texture, although that depends to some extent on the ingredients and the textures they bring.

R4 = Orlando Bloom

I’ve only had store bought gelato. The Talenti brand. I have to get the real thing one day…

IYKYK, OP.

greg uses it as lube

[quote]I’ve only had store bought gelato. The Talenti brand. I have to get the real thing one day…

They use the word "gelato" for marketing but that stuff has none of the characteristics of gelato.

“The first thing you'll notice, she says, is that gelato is a lot creamier. It's smoother and silkier than its American counterpart. It's also denser, yet it has that elasticity and fluidity that you can't get with ice cream.”

Gelato has to be served at warmer temperatures for it to be anything remotely close to true gelato in Italy.

Seems to me that Eataly's gelato is close to the texture of the old country product - served slightly warmer, gooey and creamy.

I had terrific gelato in both Venice and Florence. I prefer some variation on berry flavors. Raspberry especially. Gelato is like a creamier ice cream, but not the same as soft-serve. I was told by a native Italian that you should always ask when the gelato was made. If the answer is anything but "today," don't bother. There's a noticeable difference between freshly-made and day-old.

While both ice c rea an and gelato contain sugar milk and cream, gelato does not have egg yolks and uses more milk. It also needs to be served warmer than ice cream so that you taste the underlying flavour.

Real Gelato is made with MILK NOT cream NOT eggs and NOT a custard. It tastes richer because it's churned a lot slower than Ice Cream thereby preventing ice crystals and air bubbles to form. It's served at a slightly warmer temp than Ice Cream which also gives it a smooth texture. The flavors may seem more intense because the milk does not mask them like cream or a custard or ice would. That's why it's typically served in smaller portions. Best of all, it's typically lower calorie than American Ice cream.

If you want to make it at home, be aware a real Gelato machines are available but very expensive because of the special slow churning thing. If you think you can just buy that cheap Kitchen aid attachment that makes Gelato and Ice Cream you just got scammed by typical marketing verbiage.

Finally, for you stupid Fraus who say you can make it with eggs because you saw The Barefoot Countessa do it on The Food Network, go back to making Ambrosia salad. She does not know how to cook Italian let alone something like real Gelato. Yes, there is a "custard Gelato" you can find in Italy, but that's considered a specific flavor not a typical ingredient which defines Gelato.

[quote]Gelato has to be served at warmer temperatures for it to be anything remotely close to true gelato in Italy.

True. It's not frozen.

The real defining characteristic of good gelato is that it melts quickly. There is nothing holding it to together. It is lower in fat than ice cream, there are no binding agents.

The ONLY supermarket ice cream that vaguely reminds me of gelato is Haagen Dazs plain vanilla (not their vanilla bean).

It tastes milky, melts fast, is not too sweet, made with only 5 ingredients.

[quote]Finally, for you stupid Fraus who say you can make it with eggs because you saw The Barefoot Countessa do it on The Food Network, go back to making Ambrosia salad.

There IS one classic gelato flavor that's made with eggs: crema.

It is made with egg yolks and is one of the most popular flavors in Italy.

Another defining characteristic, something Americans don't quite understand when they call things "gelato": Italian gelato does not have bits and pieces of things in it.

Pistachio, hazelnut, almond are made with nut pastes, not bits of the nuts.

Fruit gelato does not contain bits of fruit, the fruit is completely amalgamated.

An exception is Stracciatella with flakes of chocolate, but they are not chocolate chips.

[quote] greg uses it as lube

That's so funny. Didn't you want to mention something about prunes? That would show off your sense of humor even more.

[quote] There IS one classic gelato flavor that's made with eggs: crema. It is made with egg yolks and is one of the most popular flavors in Italy.

Yes, I said that there is ONE flavor made with eggs, not a regular base for Gelato. It's in the last sentence of my post.

R30 Yes, I now see that sorry. You are correct. Eggs are not a regular base for gelato