Mom & Dad: Sorry. I'm changing my profession (again). I want to make gelato for the rest of my life.
Gelato is the ideal summer delight, creamier and sweeter than ice cream, while also less fattening. So technically, it's healthier (I like to think, even though it has not been scientifically proven). A cone a day must keep the doctor away, as it has become essentially a medical prescription in my life. I completely understand why the Mesopotamians started eating shaved ice (or fresh snow) drizzled with honey, fruit syrups, and fresh cream over 6,000 years ago. They wanted a perfect combination of sweet and cold, but it was the badass Italians from Florence in the 1630's that perfected the dessert into what we know now as gelato. Any further experiments, including the American ice cream, have not been able to surpass those taste factors.
Trapped under a heat dome, completely miserable, I decided to learn how to make gelato. To my surprise, Woops!, the famous macaroon confectioner is lodged together with Mia Chef Gelateria in the Flatiron District, where in a cramped, windowless room the chef shares the secrets to the bonbon of cool desserts: gelato.
The two-hour procedure is quite simple compared to how intricately dense and full of flavor the icy cone seems to be. A base mixture is prepared roughly the same each time, flavored with the desired spices, whipped, and frozen. In fact, it only takes about five minutes to freeze and let bubbles into the mixture in the $25,000 Carpigiani Batch Freezer (I obviously have one at home).
Of course, a cheaper home version is available via Amazon or Walmart, for roughly $30. However, nothing beats the good ol' manual approach, whipping a bowl on ice, freezing for an hour, whipping, and freezing again. Either way, my accelerated version in the fancy-pants freezer produced 4 batches of Snicker's Candy bar, Cookies and Cream, French Vanilla, and Dutch Chocolate Gelato. Because of the weather, the mushiness was more concentrated, but the bite factor (or resistance a substance has when you bite into it) was still characteristic to gelato. The fresh taste of cream fused with vanilla, chocolate, and peanut butter harmoniously combined into a version good enough for even some of the best Italian confectioners.
One friend, two hours, four batches, and eight pints of gelato, and I could not think of a better way spend a Sunday afternoon. For the first time in weeks I know my menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any petit gouter: Gelato.
Recipe: makes 2 pints
Base:
