By: Vivienne Pearson
You say gelati, I say gelato. He says ice-cream, she says sorbet. So many different words, but hey, let’s not call the whole thing off.
On starting this story, I felt embarrassed that I didn’t know the difference between ice-cream and gelati, let alone sorbet. And is it gelati or gelato?
It turns out that I’m not alone. Several conversations and dictionary/website consultations later, I’m clearer but not crystal.
Some say that ‘gelati’ is simply an Italian word for ice-cream. Others say that gelati is made slightly differently and ends up with a lower fat content and less air than ice-cream. I now know that gelati is the plural of gelato but, in Australia, the two words are used seemingly interchangeably.
I was under the misconception that all gelati were dairy free. I got this idea from the classic lemon flavour that was always an option in the gelati vans of my youth. It turns out that I was half right – this product is dairy free, as are most fruit-based gelati. Some places distinguish between fruit-gelato and milk-gelato. An alternative is to call the fruit-based ones sorbet, as sorbets never contain dairy.
But does ice-cream always contain dairy? Traditionally yes, but not Knox & Aya’s selection of vegan ice-cream, based on coconut milk (see story opposite).
I will leave the last word to Lisa Fisher, of Bangalow’s Pantry 29. ‘I roll with whatever people call it,’ she happily declares. I second that… and, in celebration, will add a second scoop to my next iced-confectionary-in-a-cone.
