Interested in knowing the difference between industrial Italian ice cream and regular Italian ice cream? Read on to find out what sets the two apart and remove the confusion that most people have regarding the two different kinds of ice creams.
Many people are unaware of the term “Industrial ice cream”. Furthermore even those people that are aware that there exists such a terminology fail to realize the difference between Industrial Italian ice cream and regular Gelato ice cream from Italy. Ask the people of knowledge and they well tell you that there is world of difference between the two. When we use the word ice cream or gelato it tends to refer to a whole range of frozen sweet things which include items like popsicles, street ice cream, soft serves and DIY ice creams. More specifically however when you talk about gelato ice cream as made the Italian way it is referred to as Gelato Artigianale which actually means non-industrial type of ice cream.
Understanding the difference
To understand the difference between regular gelato ice cream and Italian industrial ice cream we will have to look at a number of things related to the production of both these kinds of dessert items. Gelato Artigianale is considered to be a natural frozen dairy product which is made up of fresh natural ingredients as much as possible. This also includes the use of fresh milk up to 72%. The production of gelato usually takes place in small quantities around 20 liters at time max. The air content in gelato ice cream is around 20 to 25%. Gelato recipes were something to be very proud of in the good old days of Italy. Families kept their recipes secret and had a passion for making the best gelato ice cream ever.
On the other hand when you analyze the production of industrial ice cream you find that it is prepared in huge quantities often time amounting to a couple of tons in a single go. Industrial Italian ice cream also incorporates the use of artificial ingredients and coloring but the amount is relative to the target market segment. Furthermore the air content in industrial ice cream is double that of gelato. One of the major cost components in the production of industrial ice cream is the transfer and storage of the large amounts of ice cream that is produced.
So what difference does the air content in ice cream make? Basically it gives the same volume of ice cream a drastically different weight irrespective of the unit of measurement. For example a gallon of industrial ice cream will weigh in at around 2 kg where as gelato artigianale will weigh about 2.7kg. There are many other things that differentiate between these two kinds of ice creams. Gelato is freshly made where as industrial ice cream is not. Whereas gelato has a creaminess and velvety texture Italian industrial ice cream feels quite different. The flavors found in Italian industrial ice cream are not as rich and distinct nor diverse as the flavors found in gelato. Last but not least industrial ice cream is not all that healthy as compared to traditional gelato from Italy.
