Gelato
Italian-style ice cream, typically denser and silkier than American ice cream because it is churned with less air.

- Frozen desserts and sweet beverages
- Italy
Also called: Italian ice cream
Gelato bases usually contain more milk and less cream than American ice cream, and many use fewer or no egg yolks. It is churned more slowly, so less air is beaten in, and it is often served a little warmer, which keeps it soft and lets the flavor come through strongly.
In Italy gelato also covers fruit sorbets, and it is traditionally made fresh and kept for a short time. Pistachio, hazelnut, chocolate and fior di latte, a plain milk flavor, are classics.
Bake it at VanillaGoods
Tools for this
Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream MakerA built-in compressor, so there is no bowl to pre-freeze.See it on Amazon
Whynter 2.1-Qt Compressor Ice Cream MakerChurns batch after batch without pre-freezing a bowl.See it on Amazon
Ninja CREAMi 7-in-1Freeze the base in its pint, then spin it into gelato-smooth ice cream.See it on Amazon
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Related entries
Sources
Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.
- Gelato (Q1362405), Wikidata
