Gelato alla Stracciatella
(Unedited)
Please read the Gelato Introduction if you haven’t already. Stracciatella, invented in Bergamo in 1961, uses plain Fior di Latte as its base. Then a chocolate syrup is incrementally poured on top and folded into the gelato a little at a time. The blade of the gelato machine tears - “straccia” in Italian - the chocolate as it folds it back into the gelato. It’s the Italian version of chocolate chip ice cream, but so much better because the frozen chocolate ends up in bits and pieces of different sizes and shapes throughout and the fior di latte is way better than typical vanilla ice cream. The syrup is made using 60% dark chocolate (we’ve been using Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate) in an 80:20 ratio with some fats to make the syrup. The 20% fats should be in a 2:1 ratio of cocoa butter to neutral-tasting oil. If you want the syrup to end up crisper, slightly increase the cocoa butter and decrease the oil.
Chocolate Syrup:
80g 60% dark chocolate bar or chips
14g cocoa butter
7g sunflower oil (or other neutral oil)
1. Make the Gelato al Fior di Latte. Another interesting base would be the Gelato alla Fragola.
2. While the gelato is churning for the 30 minutes (assuming the Musso Lello 4080), melt the chocolate syrup on low heat using the three ingredients above. Then turn off the heat and let it cool. It will remain liquidly.
3. When the gelato is done, turn off the machine (both churner and chiller) and use a spatula or spoon to drip some thin “strands” of chocolate syrup all over the top of the gelato.
4. Let the strands freeze for 20 seconds (first photo), then turn back on the gelato churner and chiller for about one minute (second photo) until the new chocolate pieces are folded back in.
5. Repeat steps 3-4 until the chocolate syrup is used up. I normally don’t use absolutely all of it, but almost all of it.
6. Let the churner and chiller run for another few minutes to make sure it gets back to the proper consistency. Remember that Fior di Latte tends to be softer than most gelati. Turn off the chiller for the last 30 seconds.
7. Serve gelato in small bowls that were pre-cooled in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
8. Store uneaten gelato in the freezer. To get it soft enough to eat later, you may need to put it into your refrigerator for up to 1.5 hours. But keep in mind that the consistency won’t be as good as it was right out of the machine. In any case, the best option is to make only as much as you need and store the remaining mixture in the refrigerator until the next day when you can make it again, but keep in mind that you will need to churn it for much less time.
