Basic Gelato Base Food

SICILIAN-STYLE GELATO

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, pour 1 cup (250 ml) of the milk and all of the cream, then add the split vanilla bean, if using. Warm over medium heat until it just starts to bubble around the edge (no need to bring it to a boil).
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1 cup (250 ml) milk, sugar, and cornstarch together. Remove the saucepan with the hot milk from the heat and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return the saucepan to medium heat and cook, stirring regularly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture thickens slightly, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Place the egg yolk in a medium bowl and whisk until pale and thickened, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Temper the egg yolk by slowly pouring one ladleful of the hot milk mixture into the yolk, whisking constantly, then slowly pour the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan, whisking to combine.
• Remove from the heat. Pour into an airtight container. (Leave the vanilla bean into the gelato custard while it cools.) Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for a few hours, or preferably overnight. The Sicilian-style gelato base must be very cold before churning: this will produce the smoothest, silkiest texture.
• Fish the vanilla bean out of the custard and discard.
• Strain the Sicilian-style gelato base to produce the smoothest texture. Pour into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Stop the machine when the gelato is thick and icy but still easily spoonable.
• STORAGE: Transfer the gelato to an airtight container and freeze until firm, about two hours.Homemade Sicilian-style gelato is at its creamiest and best if enjoyed within 2 weeks. Past that, some ice crystals will inevitably start forming (especially if the gelato is kept in the freezer section of a regular fridge, as opposed to a chest freezer) and the texture won't be quite as smooth. The gelato will still be perfectly edible for up to 2 months, but my advice is: enjoy it as quickly as possible after churning.
• SERVING: Always take Sicilian-style gelato out to room temperature 20 minutes before serving to make it easier to scoop. This will also allow you to enjoy the treat at its ideal temperature and texture.
• MAKE IT DAIRY FREE: Substitute lactose-free milk or oat milk for the regular milk, and lactose-free heavy cream or soy cream for the regular heavy cream.
• MAKE IT VEGAN: Get my recipe and instructions for making vegan gelato.

CLASSIC GELATO BASE (VANILLA FLAVOR)

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, warm the milk over medium heat until it just starts to bubble around the edge (no need to bring it to a boil). Remove from the heat and reserve.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl if you're using a hand mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture is thick and creamy (about 2 minutes at medium speed). With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour in one ladleful of the hot milk into the egg mixture. Slowly pour in the rest of the mixture and beat until the milk is well incorporated.
• Pour the milk and egg mixture back into the saucepan, add the vanilla bean, and place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the custard coats the back of a wooden spoon.
• Remove from the heat. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for a few hours, or preferably overnight to infuse the custard with a deeper vanilla flavor.
• Fish the vanilla bean out of the custard, then pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl of an ice cream maker (straining the mixture will ensure a silky smooth gelato). Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Stop the machine when the gelato is icy but still soft.
• STORAGE: Transfer the gelato to an airtight container and freeze until firm, about two hours.Classic gelato is at its creamiest and best if enjoyed within 2 weeks. Past that, some ice crystals will inevitably start forming (especially if the gelato is kept in the freezer section of a regular fridge, as opposed to a chest freezer) and the texture won't be quite as smooth. The gelato will still be perfectly edible for up to 2 months, but my advice is: enjoy it as quickly as possible after churning.Always take gelato out to room temperature 15 to 20 minutes before serving to soften it and make it easier to scoop.
• SERVING: Always take Gianduja gelato out to room temperature 20 minutes before serving to make it easier to scoop. This will also allow you to enjoy the treat at its ideal temperature and texture.
• VARIATIONS: Use this versatile base to make a variety of gelato flavors, such as Pistachio, Raspberry Rose, Blueberry, or Cherry Ripple!
• MAKE IT DAIRY FREE: Substitute lactose-free milk or oat milk for the regular milk, and lactose-free heavy cream or soy cream for the regular heavy cream.
• MAKE IT VEGAN: Get my recipe and instructions for making vegan gelato.

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.

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.

GELATO

Steps:

• Put the milk, half-and-half, salt and whatever flavors you are steeping with in a medium saucepan. Heat to a gentle simmer, remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes.
• Whisk the sugar, vanilla and egg yolks in a medium bowl. Gradually strain in and whisk about half of the warm milk mixture into the eggs. Then, while whisking constantly, add the warmed eggs to the remaining milk mixture.
• Return to the heat and cook the gelato base, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick and it coats a spoon, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture into a bowl set over an ice bath to stop the cooking and bring down the temperature.
• Strain the mixture again through a fine strainer, pushing to extract all the liquid. Churn the gelato in a gelato/ice cream maker, following manufacturer's instructions.
• Fold in desired mix-ins once the gelato has finished spinning in the machine. Transfer to a container and freeze until solid and ready to serve.

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.

GELATO DI CREMA - VANILLA CREAM BASE FOR GELATO

Steps:

• In a large bowl whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until pale yellow and thickens up.
• Combine the whole milk, heavy cream and 1 vanilla bean, sliced in half lengthwise in a saucepan. Heat the mixture just until it starts to bubble along the edges. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Remove from the heat.
• Remove the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds with the tip if a small knife and add the seeds back into the milk mixture. Discard the vanilla bean shell.
• While whisking the egg mixture add in about a cup of the warm milk mixture and combine together. Then add in the rest of the egg mixture to the milk. Heat the mixture slowly to 175 to 180 degrees F. The custard should be thickened and coat the back of a wooden spoon. Do not allow the custard to simmer.
• Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve, cover and refrigerate until well chilled.
• You can transfer this custard into the ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions. This will make vanilla gelato, or you can make the following variations.
• Espresso: add 1/2 cup of chilled espresso coffee into the custard.
• Chocolate: add 3 ounces melted bittersweet chocolate into the warm custard before chilling.
• Pistachio or hazelnuts: In a blender add 6 ounces shelled pistachios with the heavy cream and puree before adding into the saucepan.
• Amaretto: Stir in 1/2 cup of crushed amaretto cookies into the milk before heating and add 1-ounce amaretto liqueur into the finished chilled custard before freezing.

GELATO: THE BASIC RECIPE

Steps:

• Pour the milk, or milk and cream, half of the sugar and, if using, the vanilla pod or lemon zest, into a saucepan and bring the milk nearly to a boil. When the very first bubbles begin to appear, take it immediately off the heat and let it cool. (If using the optional vanilla or lemon zest, you can cover the saucepan, which will slow down the cooling process and prolong the steeping process, thus drawing out more of their flavor.)
• When the milk has cooled, put the egg yolks into an electric mixer together with the other half of the sugar. Beat at a high setting until the egg yolks and sugar have been totally combined and developed a creamy quality. You will be able to see ripples as the mixer turns.
• Lower the setting and slowly add your cooled milk (from which you will have removed the vanilla or lemon zest if using) in a steady stream. Mix until everything is well amalgamated.
• Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan. Heat the mixture gently until the eggs thicken it into a thin custard-thick enough to coat a spoon lightly-but not so much that the egg curdles. Be attentive, increasing the heat very gradually from low to medium or medium-high, stirring constantly until you begin to 'feel' the mixture beginning to thicken, and then lowering the heat immediately to low. If you fee the mixture is getting too hot, you can add a bit of cold milk to the saucepan to avoid curdling.
• Once the mixture has thickened nicely, remove it from the heat, pour it into a bowl and chill in the fridge for about an hour. Stir from time to time to prevent a film from forming on the surface of the mixture.
• Pour the batter into an ice cream maker and proceed to churn per the instructions that came with the machine. Typically, you will churn the batter for 20-30 minutes, which results in a 'soft serve' texture. If you want a firmer gelato, freeze it for an hour or two before serving.

THE ONLY ICE CREAM RECIPE YOU'LL EVER NEED

Steps:

• In a small pot, simmer heavy cream, milk, sugar and salt until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream. Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cool mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturers' instructions. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed.

SICILIAN GELATO-STYLE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Whisk together 200 ml (about 0.8 cup) of the cold milk with the corn starch, making sure that there are no remaining lumps. Set aside for now.
• Blend the remaining 500 ml (about 2.1 cup) of the milk/cream, the sugar, the salt and vanilla bean (with seeds scraped out and added) in a sauce pan. Warm until steaming hot (not boiling!) on medium heat.
• Blend the corn starch mixture with the rest of the ingredients in the sauce pan. While barely reaching a boil, cook and stir for about four- five minutes, or until the mixture has begun to thicken and any possible "floury" taste (from the starch) has disappeared [and don't overcook: that would reduce the thickening powers of the starch].
• Take the ice cream base from the heat and let the mixture cool down.
• Refrigerate for a couple of hours, discard the vanilla bean, and freeze according to the instructions of your ice cream machine.
• In case you have no ice cream machine, still-freeze the base in your freezer (see the link below the box!) - this base is perfect for still-freezing, by the way!
• After the churning, place the ice cream in a freezer-safe container, cover with plastic film and a lid, and store in the freezer.

CLASSIC GELATO

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Warm the milk in a large saucepan with 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons of the sugar, and the milk powder. Stir well to ensure everything is incorporated.
• Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse while preparing the remaining ingredients.
• Place the egg yolks into the bowl of a stand mixer with the remaining vanilla extract and sugar. Whisk for at least 10 minutes until the eggs are light, fluffy, and increased in volume.
• Put a mixing bowl large enough to hold the custard into the freezer or chill the bowl with ice cubes.
• Gently reheat the milk mixture until warm but not hot or boiling to avoid curdling the custard.
• Pour the liquid slowly over the beaten eggs with the mixer running on medium speed; take care and do not rush this process.
• Return the custard to the pan and place over low heat. Stir continuously and cook slowly and gently until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
• Pour the custard into the chilled bowl and continue to stir until the custard is cold.
• Pour the gelato into a plastic tub with a well-fitting lid. Put into the freezer for 30 minutes.
• Take the custard out and beat with either a fork, hand whisk, or electric hand mixer to break down the custard into a smooth consistency. Do this 3 or 4 times every 30 minutes.
• Store the gelato in a plastic tub with a well-fitting lid.
• Remove the gelato from the refrigerator 10 minutes before serving.
• Cut a circle of greaseproof paper and lay this on the surface of the custard (this prevents a skin forming). Put the custard into the fridge for 3 to 4 hours or even overnight.
• Churn in ice cream machine following the manufacturer's instructions.