Top 12 Tips for creating gelato with Chicho Gelato

Chicho Gelato brings a taste of Italy to Western Australia with their beautiful Italian gelato carts and amazing cold treats. Chez and Carly from Chicho Gelato studied the art of making gelato at Gelato University in Bologna, Italy and are committed to raising the bar in quality and flavour combinations. Chicho Gelato make their own flavours from scratch in house, free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives and source their ingredients from local producers.

We spoke to Chicho Gelato about what makes their gelato so special!

Top 12 Tips for Creating Gelato

1. Test new flavour combinations in small batches. The KitchenAid Stand Mixer is great for making small trial batches. It also makes perfect meringue which we love to add to our gelatos.
2. Use good quality milk and cream. We use jersey milk.
3. Use over ripe and vine ripened fruit wherever possible as this makes for more flavoursome gelato
4. For sorbets always use caster sugar rather than regular to prevent a grainy end product.
5. Make the cream anglaise the day before you wish to make the ice cream and let it chill in the fridge, stirring it hourly when possible. This process is called aging and encourages the homogenous combination of the cream, milk and sugars, vital to any good gelato.
6. When adding ingredients to the cream anglaise prior to freezing consider the water or fat content of the ingredient. For example if adding fruit, remember that it contains water so it can make the product icier. An easy correction is to add extra sugar, 20% of the value of fruit. For example if we add 100gm of strawberry add an extra 20gm of sugar. Similar rule applies if you are adding a fatty flavour, such as hazelnuts, as the nuts contain oils which make the product hard. To prevent this we add dextrose, 20% of the value of nuts. Dextrose has a lower sweet rating as well as better anti-freezing properties compared to regular sugar.
7. For any fruit you add always add 1% lemon juice; a natural antioxidant which prevents discolouration and browning of the product.
8. If you are adding any additional sauces, nuts or strawberry coulis to the frozen gelato ensure you chill or freeze them prior to adding. This prevents ice crystals forming and makes for a smoother product.
9. Leave the gelato/sorbet to temper for 5 minutes at room temperature prior to serving.
10. When serving, particularly sorbet, try to scrape the top rather than digging into the product. This makes the gelato easier to serve and enhances the flavour.  
11. Always cover your gelato or sorbet directly with a plastic film (e.g. glad wrap); this prevents ice crystals forming on top.
12. Freshly made gelato or sorbet should be eaten within 4 days of making.

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