ARTS Cream gelato, made with fresh fruit or imported ingredients such as pure chocolate, chips, candies, nuts and confections. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
Gallery of Pinoy gelato By Marge C. Enriquez Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 21:08:00 08/27/2008
MANILA, Philippines—When Arts Cream Gallery opened at the new Midtown Wing of Robinsons Place Manila, people queued to savor the P100 gelato on a hefty Belgian cone. Friends pitched in to pay P345 for a giant glass with over a dozen scoops of gelato.
This gelateria is the logical venture of artiste Rachy Cuna and his brother Ricky, founder of the famous Fiorgelato brand, arguably the first Pinoy gelato. Arts Cream Gallery is the premium line, which specializes in Italian gelato that is styled according to Rachy, hence, the concept.
What makes the gelato cost P100 a scoop—and worth every lick?
Unlike the supermarket or conventional ice cream, gelato contains half the butterfat (less than 10 percent) of the American-style ice cream (18 percent). With less butterfat, gelato is semi-frozen, thus, melting faster and you can instantly taste the flavors.
The key ingredients such as cream, skimmed milk powder which makes it gooey and prevents crystals from building up, and other flavorings such as hazelnut and chocolate are imported from Italy. Because of the thick dairy content, gelato needs lots of fresh fruit and nut flavorings to make it tasty. Gelato’s taste is cleaner on the palate, especially the sherbet or sorbetto, made with fresh fruits and water instead of dairy. Less sugar on the sherbet produces a granular texture.
Special machine
Gelato is made by a special machine that stirs the mixture while being frozen so that ice crystals don’t accumulate and also minimizes air content. While ice cream is made by mixing air into the ingredients to double its quantity, gelato is much denser. As sugar tends to decrease freezing temperature, this kind of sweetener is kept at a minimum. Unlike ice cream, gelato ingredients are not evened out together, hence this semi-frozen treat melts faster. It is served 10 degrees warmer than ice cream to boost the taste.
At Arts Cream Gallery, one can’t miss the giant umbrellas and the clear etageres that display glassware and china that adorn the gelateria at the mall lobby. The visually arresting display of mounds of gelato, decked with confections, tempts the eye. In Rachy Cuna’s style, everything is served in exaggerated proportions in clear bowls and glasses. It’s revival of the ice cream parlor of the ’70s and ’80s, except that people are savoring more cream and natural ingredients than the artificially flavored ice cream with lots of air. The desserts are generously topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and other delectable items. It’s quite common to see groups of people huddling and scooping together over a large banana boat. Rachy says it’s not all about business, but giving people value for money and style.
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