Basic Wine Gelato Food

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:

• 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 WINE GELATO

Steps:

• Heat and mix milk, cream, and sugar in a saucepan to 180 degrees F. Cool in the refrigerator overnight. Add wine and freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions.

NOCCIOLA GELATO: HAZELNUT GELATO

Steps:

• Grind the hazelnuts to a very fine paste (this can be done in a blender or coffee grinder).
• Warm milk until the edge is ringed with tiny bubbles. Turn off heat at once. Put in the hazelnut paste, mix thoroughly, and cover. Allow to cool completely.
• Line a strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth. Set over a bowl and pour the hazelnut milk mixture into the strainer and press as much through as possible. Tie up the ends of the cheesecloth, suspend over the bowl, and allow to drip through. When mixture stops dripping, squeeze gently. In another bowl beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and foamy. Add the strained milk mixture mixing in a little at a time.
• Pour everything into top of double boiler over medium heat. Stir constantly and cook for 3 to 4 minutes after the water in the bottom has started to bubble. Pour into a bowl. Allow to cool completely then chill. Freeze according to ice cream machine directions.

CREAMY GELATO

Steps:

• In a saucepan heat the milk and cream and reduce over medium heat until 2 cups remain. In a large bowl, using a whisk, beat the sugar with the egg yolks until the mixture is light and fluffy. Gradually pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
• Heat the mixture over simmering water, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon, until it thickens enough to coat the spoon. Make sure not to overheat or let the mixture coagulate. When thickened remove the bowl from the heat and continue stirring for a minute to ensure the mixture is uniformly cooked. Let cool to room temperature, refrigerate, covered, until completely cold, preferably overnight.
• Process the mixture in an ice cream freezer following the manufacturers instructions. Serve immediately.

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.

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.