Gelato

The History:
I think the one thing everyone wants to know about gelato (at least, everyone according to my scientifically valid poll of three...) is: "What's the difference between ice cream and gelato"? Gelato has lower butterfat (4-8%) and ice cream has a much higher percentage: 14%. Another fun fact: the first reported ice cream, apparently, is mentioned in the Bible: Someone in the old Testament (can't remember who) gave Moses ice cream made of ice and goat's milk. (I'm honestly not sure if this actually counts...)

The Process: 
Important first step: acquire a friend with an ice cream maker. My good friend Jen not only has an ice cream maker (it attaches to her KitchenAid- I'm so jealous!) but is also experienced with making gelato- (thankfully! because my winging-it tendencies seem to disappear when there is a thermometer and precision involved in the temperature of a delicate mixture of egg yolks and milk. I got nervous. She kept it real.) Because I had hoarded a solitary, precious vanilla bean from Madagascar left over from a Peace Corps friend who served there, I wanted to make vanilla gelato.

We started the process in the morning, since gelato requires at least 8 hours of chilling. It was a pretty complicated process- maybe by my third or fourth time it would seem smoother. I'm a gelato-newbie, and like I said: recipes that call for precise temperatures make me nervous.

The Recipe:  
1 vanilla bean (seed it by slicing the bean lengthwise, then remove the teeny seeds by scraping the pod with the knife.)
2 cups whole milk
4 egg yolks
1 cup cream
3/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla extract

Remove the seeds from the vanilla bean, then add the pod and seeds to a pot with 2 cups of whole milk. Heat to 170 F. (Stir frequently to avoid scorching the bottom of the pot.) Remove the pot from heat, and let the vanilla beans steep for 30 minutes, then remove the pods. (Smell. Isn't that incredible?)

In the meantime, whip 4 egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar until lightly frothy. Use a bowl that is much larger than necessary. (You'll see why.)

Add 1/2 cup sugar to the milk mixture, then reheat to 170 F, stirring frequently. Then, using a ladle, slowly add the hot liquid to the egg/sugar mixture, while stirring the eggs. Add about half of the hot milk to the eggs. (This step is meant to prevent the egg yolks from hitting the milk while cold, thus creating sweetened scrambled eggs, which would be pretty gross in gelato.)

Then, pour the egg mixture into the rest of the hot milk, while stirring. Heat this mixture (the custard) to 185 F, and continue stirring until the custard thickens. It should coat the back of the spoon fairly evenly.

Now: prepare an ice bath. Take a very large bowl, fill about 1/4 of the way with ice cubes and some water, then place a smaller bowl inside it. Add the 1 cup cream and the teaspoon of vanilla extract to the bowl. (And, can I have a word about vanilla extract here? Use the REAL stuff- no 'imitation' or 'artificial flavorings!) Then, place a finely meshed strainer over the smaller bowl, and pour the hot custard through the strainer and into the bowl. (The strainer keeps any errant clumps of custard from chunking up your gelato.) Stir. (Taste it too- you probably won't be able to help it!) Continue stirring occasionally until the mixture has cooled, then cover the bowl and place in the fridge at least 8 hours.

At this point, recipes say "follow the manufacturer directions on your ice cream maker" which sounds mysterious if you've never used an ice cream maker. It was simple: Pour the chilled gelato mixture into the ice cream maker (a super-thick metal-lined bowl that had been hanging out in Jen's freezer for a few days), then attach the ice cream paddle to the Kitchen Aid, and stir for 20 minutes. It was pretty magical- after about 15 minutes the creamy liquid started to look like deluxe, beautiful, professional gelato, complete with authentic flecks of vanilla bean!

For best results, eat right away!

The Results:
Jen made an amazing rhubarb-strawberry compote that we put on top of the gelato and the flavors were perfect, though this gelato was so delectable that it would have been delicious without. It was pretty amazing- very rich, creamy, and strongly-vanilla flavored.
Would I make it again? Well, not anytime soon: I don't (yet) own a KitchenAid or ice cream maker, and given our upcoming move to Kenya (!) I'm not sure I'll have the opportunity. But in the future? Definitely! I'd love to experiment with other flavors: pistachio (Nathan's favorite), chocolate, hazelnut, lemon.... Check back in a few years.

African Interruption

Yes, it's been a while since I've posted.

But I have an excuse! I graduated about a month ago, which was preceded by a flurry of vaguely-academic activity and followed by more activity, and finally, we went to Germany for 3 weeks. I'd like to blog about German food, but to be honest, it wasn't terribly great. The best meals we ate were "Vietnamesisch" restaurants, which were mainly pho of varying quality and none with a broth as flavorful as my homemade pho.

We also ate at Unsicht-Bar, which is a restaurant staffed by blind waiters. Your meal is eaten in complete darkness- no winks of light anywhere to be seen. It was a 4 course meal (I ordered a 'vegetarian' meal and Nathan got poultry) starting with salad, then soup, entrees, and dessert (which was our favorite course.) The meal is ordered in the lighted bar, then you hold onto the left shoulder of your waiter and follow them into the darkness, for a meal which took us about 3 hours. It was fun to select the meals: the menu was very obtuse, and said things like: "Soup: The princess is not laying on it, but her father is telling anecdotes from his younger days" and "Dessert: With caffeine-revolted Belarussian meets South American fire". So there wasn't much to go on. (Soup was a delicious, creamy pea soup, and my dessert was a white chocolate mouse, mango-chili compote, and vodka lemon sorbet.)

So, clearly, I don't have pictures of the meal given that it was pitch black. It was fun to eat, though- after a few minutes of aimlessly stabbing at my plate in the darkness, I gave up and ate the entire meal with my fingers, utilizing the wine's ice bucket to rinse my fingers between meals. If you end up in Berlin, I highly recommend the restaurant as much for the experience as for the food.

This brings me to the point of my blog entry... we're moving to Kenya! Nathan is moving next week, and I'll be joining him in mid-August. Clearly I have a few more recipes (steamed buns, gelato, biscotti) to complete, and then the theme of Eyeballing It will change, a tad dramatically, to cover the adventures, travails, and successes of cooking in Africa! I'll be blogging soon on the topic of "what to pack for ones kitchen when moving to a very small rural dusty town in the middle of Kenya".

Hope you'll stick with me for this next adventure in cooking!