Gelato Dessert Recipe and Flavors

When you're looking for a cool, refreshing dessert idea, gelato is a great choice. Sometimes referred to as Italian ice, gelato is in fact an Italian ice cream. Some forms of gelato are made with dairy ingredients, and others are fruit and water based. Gelato varieties that don't include dairy products are sometimes called sorbets.

Many people prefer gelato over ice cream because it typically has less fat and calories than premium ice cream.

How to Make Gelato

Many people enjoy making their own gelato from scratch. If you are a true gelato connoisseur, you may want to consider investing in a gelato machine. However, many gelato recipes can be prepared in a standard ice cream maker.

Easy No-Cook Peach Gelato Recipe

Some gelato recipes call for eggs, but I prefer this no-cook option for making gelato.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of fresh peaches
• 1 1/2 cups sugar or Splenda (granulated)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 1/8 tsp lemon juice

Equipment

• Blender or Food Processor
• Ice Cream Freezer or Gelato Machine

Preparation Instructions:

Peel peaches and remove pit. Cut fruit into small pieces, approximately one inch squares. Place fruit, sugar (or Splenda), water, and lemon juice into your blender or food processor and process until the mixture liquefies and becomes smooth. Add the heavy cream and mix together. Pour mixture into your ice cream freezer or gelato machine and freeze per the manufacturer's instructions.

Recipe Options: You can substitute other types of fruit for the peaches. Nectarines are great prepared in this manner. Strawberries also work very well in this recipe, as do blueberries and raspberries. You will need to cut the strawberries in half (or smaller) prior to processing, but you can toss the blueberries in whole. These are the only fruits that I have tried myself, but I feel fairly certain that just about any type of fruit will work well in this gelato recipe.

Other Gelato Options

Gelato comes in many different flavors, some of which I'm not quite adventurous enough to try making myself. For example, Paciugo, a Texas-based national chain renowned for its authentic Italian ice cream, has actually introduced a variety of fruit and vegetable gelato combinations that are sure to appeal to adventurous and health conscious consumers.

Some of Paciugo's more unique fruit and veggie gelato selections include:

• Mango Cucumber
• Banana Beet
• Banana Carrot
• Strawberry Celery
• Orange Basil
• Lime Chili Mango
• Sweet Corn Thorntree Honey

Click here to try some of Paciugo's gelato recipes yourself.