15 technical terms every home gelato maker should know — explained simply by ICED Method, the reference for scraping-blade machines.
Gelato is not a recipe: it is a balance. Every ICED Method recipe declares PAC, POD and total solids because these numbers — not luck — decide whether your gelato comes out creamy or grainy from the Tefal Dolci, Moulinex Dolci or Ninja Creami. This glossary gives you the minimum vocabulary to read recipes like a professional, understand troubleshooting guides and fix any imperfect result yourself. The 15 terms are ordered by practical importance: the first 4 (PAC, POD, MSNF, TS) cover 90% of real-world problems.
Measures how much an ingredient lowers the freezing point. Sucrose = 100 reference. Target for gelato: 230-270; sorbet: 270-320. Too low = rock-hard block; too high = never freezes solid. Every ICED Method recipe declares its PAC.
Measures perceived sweetness relative to sucrose = 100. Dextrose sweetens less (70) but freezes less (PAC 190) — the key tool to balance hardness without oversweetening. Target: 180-220 for gelato.
Proteins, lactose and minerals from milk, excluding fat and water. Target 8-12% in gelato. Too low = icy texture; too high = sandy lactose crystals. Skim milk powder is the standard MSNF booster.
Everything that is not water: fats, sugars, MSNF, stabilizers. Target 36-42% for cream gelato, 28-34% for sorbet. Higher TS = creamier, denser result.
Air incorporated during processing, as % volume increase. Industrial ice cream: 80-120% (half air!). Scraping machines like Dolci and Creami: 10-30% — denser, more intense flavor.
Hydrocolloids (guar gum, LBG, carrageenan) that bind free water, preventing large ice crystals. Dosage 0.3-0.5%. Pre-mix dry with sugar before adding to liquids or they clump.
Molecules (lecithin, mono-diglycerides, egg yolk) that bind fat and water into a stable emulsion. Prevent phase separation and improve creaminess.
A second processing pass to smooth grainy results. Add 1-2 tbsp milk first. Maximum 2 total passes. Never on refrozen processed containers (Tefal manual rule).
Resting the pasteurized base 4-12h at 4 C before freezing. Hydrates stabilizers and proteins, improving final texture. Optional but recommended for cream bases.
Heating the base to kill pathogens: 65 C for 30 min (low) or 85 C for 15 sec (high). Mandatory for egg-based recipes. Cool to 4 C within 2 hours.
Sugar concentration measurement in fruit (degrees Brix = % sugar). A refractometer reads it. Fruit sorbet balancing needs the real Brix of your fruit — varies by ripeness.
Water not bound by sugars, solids or stabilizers. It freezes as pure ice crystals = grainy texture. The whole art of gelato balancing is minimizing free water.
The Dolci/Creami/Pacojet principle: freeze the base solid, then shave it into micro-layers with a blade. Opposite of traditional churning (freezing while stirring).
Rapid freezing creates smaller ice crystals = smoother texture. Home version: place containers in the coldest freezer zone, never in the door.
Solid additions (chocolate chips, nuts, cookies) folded in AFTER main processing with the dedicated program. Never before freezing — pieces over 5mm damage the blade.
ICED° METHOD
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