Recommendations for gelato maker for home use???

[santamonica811]

I have had a Gourmia ice cream maker for several years. My family and friends love it...not needing to put a canister into a freezer means being able to make ice cream without any advance notice, and that's wonderful, as well as having the ability to make several batches in a row. BUT . . . my personal real love is gelato, not ice cream. That is what I want to be able to make at home.

My understanding is that gelato has a slightly different set of ingredients (not surprising), *and* that the process of making gelato introduces less air than with ice cream. Less air = more dense final product = more concentrated flavors. And when I buy gelato in a market or in a store or in a restaurant, that delicious difference is what I notice. And what I crave.

So that's my goal. But I (in California) simply have not been able to find a gelato maker. A Google search seems to show dozens of options. But they *all* turn out to be ice cream makers. My understanding is that a true gelato maker uses a different shape of paddle (designed to add less air), and churns at a slower speed (again, resulting in less added air). I even had my Italian friend search Italian websites, but no luck there. I can find commercial gelato machines, but they are crazy-large and crazy-expensive. Not at all appropriate for home use. My brain is telling me, "There MUST be dedicated gelato machines aimed at the home cook. Some people want gelato, no?" But my eyes are telling me, "Nope, yet another unsuccessful online search. Only ones for making ice cream."

Any suggestions???

 

[dragnlaw]

Plenty of recipes on line for making gelato in an ice-cream machine. Dedicated gelato machines that use a compressor in the machine are obviously going to cost more, cheapest one I saw was on Amazon in the $500 area.
You also can make it by hand without a machine - just takes longer.
Good luck!

 

[santamonica811]

Plenty of recipes on line for making gelato in an ice-cream machine. Dedicated gelato machines that use a compressor in the machine are obviously going to cost more, cheapest one I saw was on Amazon in the $500 area.
You also can make it by hand without a machine - just takes longer.
Good luck!

1. I've of course tried several of those recipes. But the result was mediocre, because an ice cream maker adds too much air for it to be gelato. In other words; the problem is the machine, not the recipe.
2. Can you post the link to the gelato maker that you were able to find (and I could not find) on Amazon? Or, at least, the specific name of the manufacturer and model? $500 is definitely at the upper end of my budget. But if it makes true gelato...

 

[dragnlaw]

Of course I can't find it now. One was a Nemox but like you say horribly expensive.
I've also noticed that Cuisinart has a machine with multiple speeds. Cuisiart Gelator this is the Canadian one but it should also be in the States. I believe the speed is what is important? But no compressor.

 

[santamonica811]

Actually, you found it!!! I just checked, and the Gelator (here, it's apparently called the ICE-100) DOES have a compressor. It has the two different paddles. Only one mixing speed, so I'll see if that makes a difference. (And, a fun experiment, to make two batches--changing only the type of paddle--to see if/how much of a texture difference a simple paddle change will make). Only downside I see is that my current ice cream maker is 33% larger. But since a compressor would let me make 2 or 3 batches in a row, the smaller size is not at all a deal-killer. At $300 USD, it's not cheap, of course. But within my budget, and I assume that my family will get 10+ years of happy use from it. Will be a purchase, once Amazon gets in back in stock. Thank. You. So. Much.

 

[dragnlaw]

You might check with Cuisinart. I just went to their website and although they list the ICE-70 there doesn't seem to be a listing for the ICE-100.
Perhaps there is a problem?

woops! never mind. I was at Cuisinart.ca not .com. They do list the ICE-100 in the states. You are in luck!