History of Gelato

If you want to eat real, homemade gelato, you have to come to Italy !

The History of Gelato (Gelatu Sicilian) dates back to the 16th century and the island of Sicily was it's birthplace.
There is some confusion in the origin as to where or who really invented gelato. As most stories go, it is credited to Bernardo Buontalenti, a native of Florence, who delighted the court of Catherina di Medici with his creation. Italians are certainly credited with introducing gelato to the rest of Europe; with Sicilian born Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli who undoubtedly was one of the most influential individuals in the history of gelato, as one of the first to sell it to the public.

Summoned to Paris in 1686, he opened a café named after himself called Café Procope, which quickly became one of the most celebrated haunts of the literary establishment in France. In Italy meanwhile, the art of traditional gelato making was passed on from father to son, improved and perfected right up to the 20th century, when many gelato makers began to emigrate, taking their know-how to the rest of Europe.

The best gelato is found in Italy, which has more than 35,000 ice cream shops, many producing gelato the traditional way. Fruit flavors have only fruit, ice and sugar, while the milk-based flavors have less air injected than typical American ice creams, making them. “You can’t get pure flavors like this".

Gelato University =====================
Extensive training is part of the formula. After an initial course, a would-be gelato maker has to spend four years as an apprentice before earning the title of “Maestro"
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Gelato in Italian literally means "frozen", but is basically used to indicate the Italian type of ice cream. One of the basic differences between Gelato and the Ice Cream we know of in the United States is that it doesn't contain as much air, and is therefore more intense in flavor. In part, Gelato is healthier than American-style Ice Cream since it is made with all natural ingredients, fruit and milk, not cream. It contains fewer calorie, only 5%-8% butter fat. Where as American-style Ice Cream contains 10%-15% butter fat. The best Gelato is one that is made fresh on the premises. Produzione Propria (made on site) Italian gelato is made to be eaten fresh and can only be stored a few days before serving. For a product to be marketed as ice cream in the U.S., it must contain at least 10 percent milk fat, according to the IDFA. Italy’s traditional fruit-flavored gelatos have virtually no fat; even the milk-based flavors don’t have enough for U.S. requirements.

Sorbetto / Sorbet: Is a frozen dessert made from iced fruit juice puree and contains no milk. It may contain wine or liquor. There is very little difference between
Lemon Ice /Granita (gah-NAH-tah). and Sorbetto only the consistency.
Folklore has it that the Roman Emperor Nero invented sorbet during the first century A.D. when he had
runners along the Appian Way pass buckets of snow hand over hand from the mountains to his banquet hall where it was then mixed with honey and wine.