What Is Authentic Italian Gelato?

A Guide to the Italian Craft

I don't know about you, but when my family and I step foot in Italy, the first thing we are looking for is good food. For me, it's gelato. But you want to make sure you're not walking into a tourist trap, that you're actually getting the authentic experience and not something dressed up to look like it. Because in Italy you'll learn less is always more, but that doesn't mean it's boring.

So what actually makes gelato different, and how do you know when you've found the real thing?

What actually makes gelato different

Gelato is built on different principles than ice cream entirely. First is the composition of the two. Gelato is made with egg yolks, and that is what gives it its signature dense texture—technically making it a frozen custard. Ice cream is usually made with just heavy cream and no eggs whatsoever, which is part of why it's texture is lighter, and not dense like gelato.

You also have to look at the air in each. Gelato has less air churned into it, meaning its overrun is lower, and because of that, the flavor is more pronounced, since it's not half air. Ice cream can be up to 50% overrun, meaning half its volume is made up of air. That happens because fat traps and holds air bubbles as it churns, and ice cream's higher fat content lets it hold far more.

Gelato is also served warmer than ice cream, making it soft enough to scoop easily, which allows the flavor to fully express itself, rather than not tasting your last bite because your tongue is frozen. The result is rich without being heavy, and intensely flavored without needing to be overly sweet.

Real gelato should taste unmistakably of what it is made from. A pistachio gelato should taste like pistachio, not like a vague, sweet flavor. It should be silky, never icy, and the sweetness should feel balanced rather than overwhelming, letting the ingredient itself carry the flavor. And this all boils down to the ingredients the gelato is made with.

Why I keep things simple

I've never liked making pastry with fifty components. For me, it becomes overwhelming, and honestly, it takes the fun out of it. The older I get, the more I believe in less is more, keeping things simple, and the cleaner it is, the better.

That's not just my own preference, it's the whole philosophy behind Italian cooking. Italian cuisine has always been built around using what's fresh, what's in season, and letting a small number of good ingredients speak for themselves rather than piling on more to compensate. Gelato is the clearest expression of that idea I know. There's nowhere to hide in a scoop of gelato. If the milk isn't good, if the pistachio isn't real, you taste it immediately. That honesty is exactly what I love about it.

Gelato in Italy isn't one single thing

Travel from Florence to Sicily and you will find gelato made in genuinely different ways. Regional fruit, regional nuts, regional customs, all of it shapes what gelato looks and tastes like depending on where you are standing. Sicily in particular has its own centuries-old traditions that set it apart from the rest of the country, most notably the method of crema rinforzata. Rather than eggs, Sicilian gelato is thickened with cornstarch, which gives it a slightly lighter, more delicate texture. This comes from the heavy Arabic influence that Sicily has. 

Check out my recipe for my Sicilian Lemon Gelato with Yuzu and Fennel to see this tradition in action.

How to recognize good gelato in Italy

A few things to look for. Authentic gelato is stored in flat metal tins with lids, not mounded into dramatic colorful peaks, because real gelato is soft enough that it could never hold that shape on its own. Gelato that is mounded high is usually being held together by stabilizers, and it is also a sign that it is mostly air, which is what makes it pile up so tall in the first place. Real gelato should only have around 25 to 35% air, nowhere near enough to hold that kind of shape.

Look at the color, a real pistachio gelato is muted and natural, closer to brown-green than anything bright or neon. Look at the menu, a serious gelateria has a small, focused selection, not fifty flavors covering every wall (we hear Gordon Ramsay say this on Kitchen Nightmares all the time, haha). And notice what is missing, you will rarely find many fresh fruit flavors sitting in the gelato case at all, because fruit brings water, and water works against the texture that makes gelato what it is. Water brings ice crystals, and ice crystals are what make gelato feel icy instead of silky smooth. Dried fruit is the exception, since it lacks that same water content and can be worked into a gelato base without compromising the texture.

Why I approach gelato differently

I have spent a long time studying this craft, testing, adjusting, and testing again. My approach draws from Italian restraint and tradition, from the belief that great gelato needs few ingredients treated with patience and respect. There's no dressing something up to be what it isn't, no rushing what needs time.

For me, good gelato isn't about making the richest or sweetest dessert. It's about finding the point where an ingredient tastes most like itself. And doing so in the most natural way. My gelato recipes never use invert sugar syrups, gums, industrial or semi-finished products, stabilizers, or emulsifiers of any kind. With the exception of sugar, and the best chocolate.

Just real ingredients, traditional Italian technique, and recipes simple enough for anyone to make.

And this is the philosophy you will find in my cookbook, coming out soon...