Know Your Frozen Desserts?

We Americans love ice cream, but over the years our tastes have matured. We demand the same high quality from frozen desserts as we do in cheese, olive oil and other foods. All-natural gelato and sorbet are taking the place of artificially colored ice creams. They use fresh ingredients such as fruits, herbs, nuts and-in the case of gelato-whole milk and cream. (In Italy, the term gelato is used for any frozen dessert, whether milk-based or not. In the U.S., we call the dense milk-based dessert version gelato. For the non-dairy version, we use the French word, sorbet.)

Here are details on your favorite frozen desserts:

American Ice Cream: Made with a mixture of mostly whole milk, cream, sugar, sweeteners and flavorings such as fruits, fruit purées, nuts and chocolate chips, American ice cream is light and creamy. Its texture comes from a high butterfat content (federal law requires a minimum of 10 percent), and the lightness comes from up to 50 percent air. Commercial varieties often use chemical stabilizers and emulsifiers as well.

Gelato: The word gelato is the past participle of the Italian verb gelare, "to freeze." Gelato is made, slowly, with whole milk, cream, eggs, sugar and fruit, nuts or purées. Because it has little or no air, it's denser, and the low butterfat content means more intense flavors. Chemical stabilizers and emulsifiers are not used.

Sorbet (or Sorbetto or Sorbetti): A creamy mixture of water, ice, sugar, fruit and sometimes herbs or other savory flavorings.

Granite: Like sorbet, but more icy or granular. The sorbet mixture is often frozen, and then shaved to achieve a slushy texture.

Sherbet: Not to be confused with sorbet, sherbet is a mix of water, ice, fruit or other sweeteners and between 1 percent to 2 percent butterfat.

Frozen Custard or French Ice Cream: Similar to gelato, but federal law requires that it contain at least 10 percent butterfat, as well as at least 1.4 percent of egg yolk solids.

Sources: International Dairy Foods Association; Gelato! Italian Ice Cream, Sorbetti & Granite (Ten Speed Press, 2000) by Pamela Sheldon Johns.