In April, my family and our friends’ family went to a special gelato making class at El Camino Gelato in Monteverde (see my previous post!). The class was taught by Ran, who is co-owner of the shop with his wife Nicolette.
The first thing we did when we got there was learn about the difference between gelato and ice cream (which I wrote about in my other post). Then we learned about the equipment. There was the ice-cream maker, about a million freezers, and an enormous immersion blender.
Then Ran told us about the difference between gelato and sorbetto. Gelato is more “sturdy” and “solid” than sorbet and is made with milk. Sorbetto is dairy-free and based on water, sugar, and fruit puree. We made one of each.
Next Ran taught us about something he called chemistry 101: sugar vs. fat. We learned all about how using different ratios of these ingredients changes the product from ice cream to gelato.
Finally we got to the hands-on part of the class. Our first flavor was mango-maracuya (passion fruit). To make it, we needed mango puree, water, sugar, and passion fruit juice. We mixed all the ingredients together in a big bucket and then poured it into the ice cream machine.
The machine is cold, so it freezes the gelato while also churning it to make a smooth consistency. It was in the machine for about 15 minutes. Once the gelato came out of the machine, we put it into large containers to go into the blast chiller.
Then we had to wash out the machine – spraying it out with a hose – before we made the second batch.
Our next flavor was Caramel Pecan. The base was milk, cream, and sugar, which we put in the machine to make a basic vanilla gelato. When it came out of the machine, we mixed in some caramel and chopped caramelized pecans.
My favorite part of the class was at the end when we got to taste both flavors of ice cream. We also got to lick out the caramel container – delicious! Even better, Ran gave us a pint of each flavor to bring home.
Thank you Ran and Nicolette! It was a fun and tasty time!
