What is the best way to serve gelato?
So it's like this. I work for a coffee shop, in which we also sell gelato. Trouble is, we've all been well trained at making coffee, NOT at making gelato. further trouble is, there's not really any material with which to train, meaning that we're usually doing it wrong in some way, shape, form or fashion.
Anyway! so it's like this. our gelato is often rather stiff--really, really hard. we've got two regular ice cream scoops, and this random flat shovel thingy. (like I said, we're all coffee people, not gelato people; none of us have been trained in the serving of gelato). So, is there any way to better serve gelato so that it's soft and creamy and delicous, rather than stiff and hard?
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5 Comments:
Gelato it is made with milk instead of cream and it has no air whipped into it so when frozen it is denser than ice cream. The service temp should be higher to compensate. You could turn up the thermostat in your freezer just a couple-three degrees at a time until you find the right temperature for serving. OR call your supplier and ask them.
I'd start with the phone call since there are probably health code implications regarding the temp of your freezer.
kjgibson at 7:59PM on 02/12/08
And definitely use the flat shovel thingy!
Curlz at 9:02PM on 02/12/08
Yep. Like most ice cream served in the US, it's being stored at too cold a temperature. When the particular ice cream that is identified as 'gelato' is at its proper serving temperature, it doesn't really form tidy scoops, so a paddle is often used instead. It's probably a good idea to check, but I would imagine that as long as the temperature is low enough to keep it semi-firm--which would certainly be colder than a refrigerator--health/storage concerns wouldn't be issues.
(My apologies to those I may have enraged, but I grew up in Italy, and 'gelato' IS ice cream; pretty much everything from carefully crafted artisanal presentations to questionable confections on sticks are referred to as 'gelato', which simply means, 'chilled'. If it's any consolation, I become fairly stroppy when I people insist on saying 'gelato' ;) )
mongoose at 10:07AM on 02/13/08
Try making what in Italy is called "Affogato al cafe" or "Semifreddo al cafe". Put some gelato in a cup, pour a shot of espresso on top and go to town!
LearP at 11:38PM on 02/14/08
We do that-- we call it a "bean blast."
it's so unbelievably unappetizing, i assumed it was something our dumbass manager had dreamt up in the midst of finding other ways to destroy a decent business.
rasellers0 at 8:51PM on 02/15/08