Pistachio Italian Gelato
Make a batch of authentic Italian pistachio gelato. This homemade recipe can be made with an at-home machine and a few specialty ingredients.
Servings: 8 servings (4 cups or 950 ml)
Calories: 188kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons dextrose
- ¼ teaspoon guar gum
- ⅛ teaspoon locust bean gum
- 3 ¼ cups 2% milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons nonfat milk powder
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon pistachio paste
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Fill a large bowl with ice to use later as an ice bath. Place an empty bowl on top of the ice. Set aside. Place a storage container in the freezer to chill.
- Whisk dextrose, guar gum, and locust bean gum in a small mixing bowl.
- Cook milk in a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat, until it reaches 105°F (40°C) on an instant read thermometer. Once it reaches temperature, whisk in granulated sugar and nonfat milk powder. Once dissolved, whisk pistachio paste followed by dextrose mixture.
- Continue cooking the gelato base over medium heat, stirring often to ensure it doesn’t burn, until it reaches 195°F (90°C) on an instant read thermometer.
- Place a fine mesh strainer over the empty bowl on top of the ice bath. Strain gelato base.
- Chill gelato base until it has stopped steaming. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the gelato (to prevent a skin from forming on top) then cover with plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Remove the gelato base from the refrigerator, and whisk in salt. Pour the gelato base into an ice cream maker, and process for about 20 - 25 minutes or according to the manufacturer's directions. The gelato will be on the soft side.
- Transfer churned gelato into chilled storage container. Place gelato into the freezer to "cure" or harden up for a few hours. To serve, swipe the frozen gelato with a flat paddle. Smash the gelato on the side of the storage container to push out some of the air. Transfer to a serving bowl.
- Store gelato in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Don't forget to place the ice cream machine bowl in the freezer 24 hours before churning if you don't have a built-in freezer compressor.
Learn more about authentic Italian gelato.
Make Ahead: You can make the gelato base ahead of time and store the mixture tightly covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 24 - 48 hours ahead of churning. Add salt right before churning.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 188kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 303mg | Potassium: 347mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 293IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 218mg | Iron: 0.4mg
