Temperatures this year have been all over the place, before spring break we were enjoying high 70’s to low 80’s, over spring break we were in the 60’s and then for our first day back to school it hit 90 degrees! When I got home yesterday the air conditioning went on, and I started making gelato, if it’s going to feel like summer time I’m making some frozen treats!
Luckily I had some beautiful blackberries on hand, and a couple of mangoes that were on the verge of being overripe, just perfect for gelato. They were too good, my favorite being the blackberry, seeds and all (although next time I think I will try to strain out the seeds). It’s amazing how much more flavor these gelato’s have than standard ice creams, and I believe it has to do with the fact that you’re not using very much cream or in the case of these two gelato’s none at all. While cream does do some wonderful things to ice cream, it does tend to tone down the flavors, the creamy sweetness of the ice cream being the star. With gelato since your not adding in the cream, the flavors become the stars and are so much more prominent in the flavors, and while not as creamy as ice cream it still has a wonderful texture and mouth feel, and I have to tell you the flavors are incredible! The other difference with Gelato vs Ice Cream is the amount of air whipped into the mix, gelato is denser and there for contains more flavor. So my vote goes to Gelato!
I think one of the things I enjoyed most about eating Gelato’s in Italy was how they would let you put up to five flavors in your selection, so you got to taste some really interesting flavors, with each Gelateria having their own signature flavors. The sky’s the limit where gelato is concerned, so be creative!
- 21/2 cups fresh Blackberries* or 2 cups Mango
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cup Milk*
- juice of half a lime
- Rinse the blackberries in cold water or (peel and cut up mango into pieces)
- Place the fruit, lime juice and the sugar in a food processor and process until liquified.
- Add 1 cup of the milk and run the food processor until the mixture is smooth.
- Mix the remainder of Milk and fruit mixture in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instructions.
You are going to love these fresh fruit gelato’s, now that it’s getting warmer, they’ll make the perfect dessert for any occasion! While I have never tried it, I think a vegan version using rice milk would still be pretty darn good, or make them using just water for refreshing sorbet’s! For those of you that have asked I use a Delonghi GM6000 self refrigerating gelato maker, you can pick one up on Amazon for around $250. The great thing about a self refrigerating unit is that there is no down time in between batches, you can make one right after the other. I’ve had it for almost a year now and have had no problems with it at all, although it is too heavy to move around and has found a permanent location on my counter.
It looks like the rest of the week is getting cooler, which is a blessing considering how hot our kitchen gets, so it’s a good thing I made these delicious gelato’s while I had the chance! That’s it for today my friends, now please excuse me while I go find a spoon….the gelato is calling to me!
Yeah, you east coasters have had some summer heat! Gelato was perfect!!! It’s calling to me, too!
PS…your Google+ button didn’t work for me. Not sure if it’s a problem on my end or yours.
thanks LIz, I’ll check into it, it’s not working for me either.
I claim that dish of blackberry gelato! I love making homemade ice cream, but have never made gelato. I see that changing once the summer fruits are available!
Looks beautiful! I’ve never had mango gelato, but a blackberry version I had in Germany was fantastic. Well done! 🙂
Chef Dennis….I made some mango custard tarts and your mouth-watering mango gelato would be great for washing down my mango tarts 🙂 Yea, I agree that gelato taste denser and more intense the flavor is 🙂 Have a nice day Chef…sunny weather great for gelato and ice creams !!
I’m so jealous of 2 things the gelato maker and the sunny weather..please send both to Seattle immediately ! Love both of these but especially the mango since that is one of my favorite fruits. Beautiful work !
this looks really yummy must remember this when the weather gets warm
I love gelato and I agree they were everywhere in Italy. Our favorite was a spot just across from the Trevi Fountain. I don’t recall the name but it was wonderful.
The mangoes are so good right now I’m sure this hit the spot. I’ve never tried making a blackberry gelato but from the looks of your photo it had me drooling.
I really enjoyed your meyer lemon gelato before. Now two more flavors to try! These look beautiful and yummy.
Hi Chef Dennis! Both of them look delicious, but the mangos are much easier to find here. I can’t wait to try this mango gelato 🙂 Have an awesome week.
Did someone mention “Mango” ? Well then, here I am! Just couldn’t resist ! These gelato recipes are so easy to do. I must try them soon. Thanks for these recipes, Chef Dennis!
The photos of the gelato, especially the mango, made me want to lick the screen!
These look so good. Wow! I’m going to have to try your recipe!
I made cherry and then I roasted a whole pineapple and made roasted pineapple sorbet last night. I guess it’s sorbet. After it was all mixed I also tossed in the last bit of the vanilla yoghurt too, about a cup. 🙂 I should cook from recipes, I know, but I can’t help myself.
I’ll ne right over to sample 🙂 My mom goes ga ga over anything blackberry so I’ll also take a cup to-go!
Those look wonderful! Perfect for the warm temperatures here. And I really love how few ingredients are needed!
It was a treat just looking at the photos. Hope you enjoyed every flavorful bite!
Yes, the weather has been crazy, hasn’t it? It was 95 her on Monday and this morning it was in the 30’s & we had frost.
The gelatos look amazing – and it reminds me that I need to clear out a spot in my freezer for my ice cream cannister. Soon.
I was intrigued by all the gelato flavors when I was in Italy years ago. Mango is one of my favorite fruits. For a non-dairy version, I would try coconut milk.
thanks Jeanette, I have never used another type of milk, but I though rice would have these least flavor to it, coconut milk would be wonderful!
Oh my gosh, Yum! These look amazing.
Dude your killing me. You know me and anything ice-creamy-y. These are so colourful and fresh. I just want to show up with spoon in hand. Make that spoons cuz this looks like a double fister if you ask me.
My vote always goes to gelato too. I am excited for the warm weather but that always puts a damper on my baking.
I’m not a mango fan, so does that mean I can have a double dose of the blackberry version? It looks amazing.
I haven’t tried making gelato yet in my ice cream maker, but these look so delicious and refreshing that I’m going to have to attempt it soon!
You are inspiring me to try new things! I’d love to make sorbets for my own sake since I can’t have milk and I bet the kids would love gelato! Thanks for this, my dear friend.
Thanks Dionne! sorbets would work beautifully with fruit and just water instead of milk. Can you have any of the non dairy milks such as rice or coconut milk? they would work as well
I can’t get enough homemade gelato. Anyone who travels to Europe just gets ruined for anything else, it’s so common over there. I love this recipe, I’ll be trying it for sure.
Oh yeah, these look refreshing and it IS getting hot here in FL, already have the air on. I want to try making this with coconut milk. I’ve got a couple of mangos hanging around ready to go. Your photos are truly tempting. Hope you are doing well, Chef.
i have never EVER had gelato…..i know, right?! i think that could very well be the “unpardonable sin”….it really is on my “foodie bucket list” of things to try…..promise! u rock chef d
Is there a way to make the gelato without an ice cream maker? I’ve never attempted to make ice cream or gelato and not sure if I want to purchase one since I try not to divulge that often! 🙂
you can just freeze it normally in your freezer, and take it out every so often as its freezing to mix it up, it will still have great taste, just not quite the right consistency.
These look beautiful. I’m trying to limit my desserts to 1 tablespoon or less of sugar per serving, so I’d like to try this with half the sugar. I know I’d need something to keep the mix from freezing too hard. Have you ever made a reduced carb version for carb-sensitive friends?
hi Laura
sadly I have not tried carb reduced versions, and unfortunately I would not know where to begin to tell you to make adjustments, but my friend Carolyn at http://www.alldayidreamaboutfood.com/ does pretty much everything low carb, she is a genius at converting regular recipes, if you have a chance check with her, just let her I recommended her!
Dennis
Blackberry and mango gelato is exactly what I crave every summer. Bookmarked this recipe for future Summer references. <3 Have a lovely day Chef!
Gorgeous Chef! I love gelato! I love it’s texture vs. ice cream. Yours looks fantastic!
What great gelato recipes!
thanks Emily!
These are my two favourite gelato flavours! (blueberry is #3). Mango is just made for gelato – perfect tart/sweet. Yum. Now I need to have gelato. lol
Our temps have been all over the place, too! Winter, spring, summer…which season is it? 🙂 The gelatos look incredible. They make me think of a hot hot summer day. Maybe tomorrow?!
It’s been a crazy winter here in Georgia as well, but it’s finally hot. And just getting hotter!
Oh my, both of those look phenomenal and perfect for this crazy weather!
I love these gelato flavors! Shame the temp is going down 20+ degrees. What is going on with this crazy weather?!?!
Oh my gosh, we just made this mango recipe this morning (my son and I) and it is unbelievable! We used 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream and the rest whole milk (leftovers from a chocolate ice cream recipe). It is delicious! It has been in the freezer a few hours, but everyone keeps opening it to take some out. Has a frozen yogurt taste and feel. If there is any left, perhaps it will freeze up more. But it is great like this.
so happy to hear that you enjoyed the mango gelato, it is so flavorful! the recipe works well with lots of other fruit
Chef Dennis, it’s mango season here in South Florida so this gelato recipe was exactly what I was looking for. The mangos were very sweet so I only used half the sugar. It came out perfect. I’m going to try your peach gelato recipe next. Thanks!
it really is a great recipe for showcasing fresh fruit flavors Sonia, happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!