So, I'm new to the world of desserts and am getting into making some gelato. My ice cream maker is the type that has a cooler in it so it pre-cools the bucket and continues cooling it while churning.
Given that, I've seen some recipes that specifically call for heating the gelato base and then cooling it overnight before churning.
What are the pros/cons of such a tactic? My assumption is that, since my ice cream maker can cool the bucket, starting with a hot liquid will have little, if any, difference than starting with a chilled liquid. Am I incorrect?
Best Answer
Cooling the gelato liquid is important when your ice cream maker does not include a chiller built-in. Some makers rely on a bowl that is put in the freezer, so you have to get the mix as cold as possible or the bowl won't be able to freeze your base.
If you have a chiller in your ice cream maker then there's no need to chill your base as it's designed to take a hot base. Unless the chiller unit is a bit weak, that is, some makers can't handle a hot room.
Flavor-wise there's pros and cons of cooling the base first, if you freeze it as fast as possible you keep more of the volatile flavors, if you chill then sometime the result is more nuanced. Personally I have rarely found that chilling the base gives flavor improvement in ice cream.