FROZEN TREATS

 In my last blog, I mentioned that I was off to make gelato, which I did.  And then I made some more.  And then I made some ice cream.  And finally I had a bunch of people over to taste them and figure out what they liked better.
The big question on everyone's lips mixed in with cream, sugar and eggs was what was the difference between the two.  So here is a treatise on gelato and ice cream.

Gelato came first, although ice cream and gelato are essentially made from many of the same ingredients.  Gelato has a lower butterfat content which is usually 4-8% and in the United States ice cream usually has about 14% butterfat, but some of the rich ice creams can go up to 20-25% butterfat.  After 25% the texture because almost waxy and is actually unpleasant.

Gelato also has more sugar than ice cream, usually running about 16-24% to ice cream's  12-16% depending on the amount of fat.  It is this increase in sugar that combines with the water to prevent the gelato from forming large ice crystals as it freezes.  Also, gelato requires "a stabilizer" which  most often are the egg yolks (although in the mascapone ice cream I made, the stabilizer was a milk solid commonly known as cheese.)  It is important that the milk proteins are heated, as well as the egg yolks and then the whole mixture ages so that the milk proteins bind with the water so that the ice crystals that form will be smaller giving a smoother texture.

Gelato is always made quickly in small batches, and the churning is slower.  Slow slow churning minimizes the amount of air incorporated into the finished product which is a denser product than ice cream with more intense flavours.  It can only be stored for a few days at consistent, low temperatures.

Ice cream
Standard ice cream is made from cream, milk and sugar.  There are usually no eggs in it.  When eggs are added, it is called French, or custard ice cream, and then it is really more gelato-styled, although usually has siginificantly more fat than gelato.  During the churning of ice cream, there is more whipping during the process whichs incorporates more air which gives it a lighter texture.

There are many ice cream makers out there.  There are commercial gelato makers and many discussions about the availability of good home gelato makers.  I am pleased with the one I bought.  It has gotten great reviews from many others and I can say that the crema gelato I produced was as a good as a remembered from the last time I was in Italy.

Neither gelato nor ice cream is what I call a healthy snack. Calorie-wise, though, per 1/2 cup serving homemade gelato is about 150-200 calories and ice cream is 250-350.  But place it on top of fresh summer fruit and I think for an occasional treat, there is no reason not to give it to your kids.  And there are some sorbettos that I am going to try and I will report in on their ease of making in my new machine.  Because those will be  a lot healthier on top of those summer fruits.

Sugar Primer

It's that time of year when sugar is everywhere and is also getting its share of bad press. (Sugar Hype) What's a parent to do?  To make an informed decision, it is important to understand that sugars, although simple, are actually  complex. I will give you the basics so you can make an informed decision about what to do with that chocolate Easter bunny (or chocolate-covered matzoh) the grandparents gave the kids. 

There are three main kinds of sugars:  polysaccharides, disaccharides, and monosaccharides.
1.  Carbohydrates (polysaccharides and oligosaccharides):
Many people do not think about carbohydrates as being sugar.  But carbohydrates are sugar molecules that attached to form large molecules.  That means rice, beans, potatoes, pasta, (including whole wheat), cereals, and breads are made from sugar molecules attached together.  Depending on how these bonds form, these complex sugar molecules can be used in many ways, including food (starch) or  fiber(cellulose).

2.  The most common disaccharides in food are:
Lactose (milk sugar) which breaks down into galactose and glucose.
Sucrose (sugar cane or beet sugar) which breaks down into glucose and fructose.
 In breast milk, also known as "The Perfect Food", 50% of the calories come from lactose.

3.  The monosaccharides (the smallest sugar molecules):
Are the final breakdown product in our bodies from carbohydrates and  disaccharides.  In nature, most commonly  found in:
  a.  honey -  a combination primarily of fructose and glucose, but also has complex carbohydrates, trace minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants (depending on the flowers used by the bees).
  b.  fructose (fruit sugar).

 4.  Manufactured sugars are the sugars that are manufactured.  They include:
   a.  Syrups - usually the sugar is sucrose, including maple syrup.
   b.  High fructose corn syrup which is usually about 55% fructose and 42% glucose.
   c.  Corn syrup - primarily glucose.

Only monosaccharides are absorbed through our guts.  That means only galactose, fructose and glucose get into the blood stream, assuming you have a normal, functioning gastrointestinal system.

One way to look at sugars is where they are primarily utilized and metabolized.  You don't have to eat any particular sugar.  The body is capable of making and storing the different sugars from food.  It is made and stored primarily in our liver and muscles.  Glucose, galactose and fructose are used and metabolized throughout the body.  We know this because there are people that have different genetic diseases that make it impossible for them to digest a sugar.  They then accumulate that sugar throughout the body, not just in the liver.  But glucose is the human's primary energy source.  Although we use the other two for energy, our bodies mostly use fructose and galactose to make them into other compounds that we need, and then will convert the extra into glucose, which becomes glycogen.  If you have an excess of glycogen, the body makes fat.

If you think about it, that means if you are a vegetarian, your diet is primarily glucose, fructose and galactose.
Yet, who (except for a few carnivores that I know) would declare that an adult who eats a vegetarian diet is eating unhealthily?  What makes a diet of refined sugar, or for that matter, high fructose corn syrup unhealthy?  By the time it gets to your blood stream it is all the same stuff as what the vegetarians are eating.

I don't have a definitive answer for you.  I do have some thoughts. 

Food is more than calories.  There is how those nutrients are delivered.  Diabetics are aware of the glycemic index.  A newer refinement of that is what is called the insulin index which may be a better measurement of the multiple factors that affect how those same sugars are seen by the body and how the conversion from one sugar to another occurs.  There is, of course, the whole issue of soluble and insoluble fibers, which do not come with a diet of refined sugar.  And finally, there is the interaction of micro nutrients.

There are also my whole idea about food and the research on it.  When people do research, they try to hold all the variables the same but one.  Humans are more complex than that.  The more research I read about food, the more convinced I am that it is rare that 1 "truth" will be learned.  We get small pieces of the puzzle and we get hints and on rare occasions, we get truths.  It goes back to my blog on Girl Scout cookies.  And my whole approach to food.  A little won't hurt you.  Moderation in all things.