The Difference between Ice Cream and Gelato

This post is not entirely a review but because I got owned when I had this discussion with a friend. I feel quite ashame to say.... that I lost in that argument.

With my love affair with ice cream and gelato, I have sadly always thought they were the same thing. Since a young age I made the assumption that gelato is just the italian way of saying ice cream as a singular form (Uno galato, due galati).

It turns out there is actually a difference between them and they are as follows

Gelato:
- Has a softer texture due to the way it is churned. Gelato is churned at a slower speed than ice cream and ice cream is generally churned in a harder and faster manner
- Generally has less fat that ice cream due to the milk and cream content
- Is denser. Gelato has about 25-30% air, compared to 50% for ice cream

Ice cream:
- Ideal serving temperature should be 10 degrees, anything warmer results in a puddle. If gelato was served at this temperature it would be rock solid.
- To be considered ice cream it needs to have at least a 10% fat content (hmmm not so great for the waistline).

Now for my next little ramble... I have gone to N2 quite a few times in the last few months and I have heard people say it's all just a gimmick and it's overpriced ice cream blah blah blah. So if you haven't read my other post, I think it's also worth mentioning and explaining the use of liquid nitrogen in gelato making. Liquid nitrogen allows the freezing process to be faster and also small ice crystals in the process. So in theory it should result in smoother ice cream. Liquid nitrogen is also not something that is cheap to obtain compared to using a standard ice cream maker. So next time you taste gelato made with liquid nitrogen, have a closer taste and you should feel a difference in texture, especially compared to the ice cream brands you would find in your supermarket freezer.

Finally I tried more flavours since my last post which include:
Rock my road (Sour cream chocolate with marshmallows, cherries, peanuts and rasins)
- Really liked this one, the thought of sour cream chocolate kinda grossed me out at first but you can barely taste sour cream, it more just rich chocolate with yummy bits that you would expect to find in a rocky road)

Red Bean with green tea shortcake
- Love the Asian flavours, the red bean is not too sweet but enough red bean bits for the texture. The powdery cookie shortcake was a good centre

Ferroro reveal
- Disappointing, looks great when you see it, but it's really just nutella ice cream.

Pandan creme brulee
- the pandan gelato on it's own is delish! Don't see the point in paying that extra $2 just for the burnt sugar

Cookies and cream
- It's cookies and cream, but compared to everything else that N2 has to offer... it's quite boring. Like seriously.... why get cookies and cream when there is so much more to choose from?

Rum and rasin
- This thing was so strong..... I wondered if I would be over the alcohol limit to drive after...

Coconut sorbet with honeydew jelly
- If this came back on the menu... I would drive back to Brunswick now! Light coconut sorbet with jelly bits... almost reminds me of a  bubble cup in gelato form?

French earl grey Dulce de leche
- Full of tea flavour..... Almost a bit teh tarik...

Nope... N2 did not pay me in anyway to post this or test all their flavours... I am just sadly addicted to their ice cream..... If they ever wanted to hire a taste tester I would jump for the role though Hahahahhahahaha. Hope you guys find this post helpful!