Five Ways to Tell if your Handmade Ice Cream is Authentic
The season for ice cream has just started. How much would you like to sample some authentic homemade ice cream that is low in sugar and created with fresh ingredients? Navigating the numerous ice cream stores and determining which ones truly manufacture artisanal ice cream deserving of this designation is not always simple. We’ll see to it that you’re taken care of: peruse our guide to artisan gelato and learn 5 methods to spot the real deal.
Trust your eyesight
Already at a first glance you can understand if the ice cream in front of you is artisanal. If it has bright and lively colors, perhaps it is not entirely handmade. In fact, to be good, ice cream must have the color of the raw material of the taste. Pistachio can never be bright green.
In general, homemade ice cream has less intense, almost pastel colors.
Sweet yes, but not too much!
Ice cream is part of desserts and therefore it is right that it delights us with a sweeping sweetness. But it must not be excessive: the sugary taste must not cover that of the ice cream, it must accompany it.
This is also a technical point: sugar is an antifreeze and therefore essential for the success of the ice cream. If you overdo it, the ice cream will become too soft. Conversely, if the sugar is not enough, the ice cream will be too frozen!
A real moment of pleasure
When made with natural ingredients, the taste of homemade ice cream shouldn’t persist in the mouth. You are not enjoying a cheese, but a fresh dessert, where the flavor gives an experience of lightness and freshness! After all, that’s why we like it so much.
The mountains of ice cream on display are beautiful, but not artisanal
The beauty of homemade ice cream is that it doesn’t stay frozen: you can enjoy it right away, you don’t have to wait for it to melt a bit, on the contrary! Don’t be upset if the ice cream you just chose melts quickly: it means that the product is, most likely, artisanal.
Precisely for this reason, the tubs on display are not filled beyond the edge: the ice cream would melt immediately! Only the one treated with chemical ingredients does not melt. So be wary of the mountains of ice cream on display, they’re just for show.
The homemade ice cream is pleasantly fresh and creamy
One of the reasons why ice cream is so loved is its texture: a unique, fresh and sweeping creaminess! Artisan ice cream, in fact, does not remain hard or with ice crystals. So remember: creaminess is everything!
