Basic Gelato Base Recipes

GELATO

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, mix milk and cream. Warm until foam forms around the edges. Remove from heat.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until frothy. Gradually pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture gels slightly and coats the back of the spoon. If small egg lumps begin to show, remove from heat immediately.
• Pour the mixture through a sieve or fine strainer into a bowl. Cover, and chill for several hours or overnight.
• Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a sealed container, and freeze until firm. If the gelato is too firm, place it in the refrigerator until it reaches the desired consistency.

BASIC GELATO RECIPE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth, thick, and pale yellow. This will take around 30 seconds. Whisk in the milk, cream, salt and vanilla until evenly combined.
• Place the saucepan over medium heat. Whisking almost constantly, cook the mixture until an instant-read thermometer reads 170 degrees F, approximately 10 minutes.
• Strain the gelato base through a fine mesh strainer into a medium-size bowl, preferably one with a pouring spout.
• Place plastic wrap directly against the surface of the liquid to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until the mixture is very cold, at least 6 hours or up to two days in advance.
• Briefly whisk the mixture, then prepare in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer instructions.
• Once the gelato has finished spinning, it will likely be a soft serve consistency. Transfer to a loaf pan (or similar sized pan), cover, and freeze until fully frozen but scoopable, up to 2 hours.
• Enjoy within 1-2 weeks for best flavor and texture. If the gelato is too firm to scoop directly out of the freezer, let it sit on the counter or in the refrigerator for 5 minutes before serving.

BASIC GELATO BASE

Steps:

• The Base:.
• In a medium saucepan, mix milk and cream. Warm until foam forms around the edges. Remove from heat.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until frothy, thick and ribbon like. Gradually pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture gels slightly and coats the back of the spoon. If small egg lumps begin to show, remove from heat immediately.
• Pour the mixture through a sieve or fine strainer into a bowl. Cover, and chill for several hours or overnight.
• At this point, you can add 2 tablespoons of any alcohol you think would taste good with your flavors. This would also be when you would want to add the vanilla extract.
• Place your mixture in the freezer for 20 minutes before churning, so the mix is as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible.
• Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a sealed container, and freeze until firm.
• A little tip for service: because gelato contains less fat, it tends to freeze a lot harder. Take your gelato out of the freezer approximately 15 minutes before serving to soften it.
• Adding Flavors:.
• Add fruit purees, or real juice, make sure that the puree does not exceed 1/2 the base volume (unfrozen), or the juice 1/4 the base volume.
• Add Nuts, chucks/chips, dried fruit or chopped fresh fruit; no more than 1/4 the base volume. Added in the last 1-2 minutes of the freezing cycle. Can be folded in before after churning but before freezing.
• Chocolate sauce (Hershey's ®), Nutella ®, or peanut butter can be added to base before freezing, or after cooking based on consistency of product being added. 1/4 - 1/2 cup.