Last updated on April 21, 2023
We are Italians and we share the recipe for Stracciatella gelato: milk ice cream with flakes of dark chocolate, without eggs. Quick and easy to prepare
Italian ice cream has a long history, but 🔊 stracciatella is a special flavour: it has only existed since 1961, and because we know exactly where and by whom it was first made. We tell you all about Stracciatella on this page of All Italian, and we share our original Italian recipe of course.
On this page
The Italian words of this page:
| 🔊 Gelato | Ice cream |
| 🔊 Stracciatella | Stracciatella |
| 🔊 Gelato alla stracciatella | Stracciatella ice cream |
The stracciatella we are talking about on this page is stracciatella ice cream. The ice cream flavor is also what most people associate with the term stracciatella, in Italy as well.
In Italy though there are two other things we call stracciatella, and they have nothing to do with ice cream: stracciatella is also a type of soup from central Italy; and stracciatella di bufala, a type of cheese made with buffalo milk.
As we will see, the ice cream flavor is so named because the process by which it is made is reminiscent of the preparation of the stracciatella soup.
Where does stracciatella ice cream come from? Seems like a misguided question for an ice cream flavour. But for the stracciatella we know when and where it originated. The credit goes to Enrico Panattoni, ice cream seller from Bergamo, in the café La Marianna, who gave the name stracciatella to his gelato in 1961.
Stracciatella ice cream is based on fiordilatte, which is the Italian milk ice cream flavor with whipping cream and without egg, the basis of many other ice cream flavors such as chocolate ice cream, frozen yogurt or pistachio ice cream.
Café La Marianna was renowned precisely for the ice cream flavor invented by Enrico Panattoni.
In 1961 Enrico did an experiment: while the ice cream was being mixed by the ice cream maker, just before it was ready, he combined hot chocolate flakes with the ice cream. In contact with the cold mixture, the chocolate chips solidify and create the hue of the stracciatella.
Today, the city of Bergamo appreciates the origin of the stracciatella gelato: the ice cream parlors of the city have produced a certificate of originality of the stracciatella ice cream, with guidelines for its production. The ingredients of the stracciatella are sugar, whipping cream and whole milk; plus the chocolate flakes, which must contain at least 58% cocoa. The original stracciatella ice cream recipe from Bergamo does not contain eggs.
The name of the stracciatella ice cream comes from the stracciatella uit Rome: a soup prepared in Lazio, Abruzzo, Marche and Tuscany regions, where the beaten egg is poured into the boiling broth. The preparation of this soup reminded Panattoni of his ice cream, hence the name.
👉 In the culinary field, the Italian word stracciato refers to the combination of ingredients at different temperatures.
The stracciatella ice cream recipe is the same as the milk ice cream recipe: the only difference is the addition of chocolate flakes, when the ice cream is almost ready.
👉 Do you want to make stracciatella ice cream with eggs? You can follow the crema ice cream recipe with eggs and add the chocolate chips at the end. The preparation does not change. With the addition of eggs, the ice cream becomes slightly creamier.
In Italian we call Stracciatella ice cream with eggs with the funny name 🔊 Stracciacrema.
Often, online recipes make stracciatella ice cream with eggs, which are not part of the Italian recipe for stracciatella.
To obtain a creamy Stracciatella gelato, use fresh whole milk 3.5% fat; and whipping cream with 35% fat.
You don't need to whip the cream before adding it to the mixture!
| Ingredient image | Ingredient name | Cups | Grams | Ounces |
|
Whole milk | 1.5 cups | 380 g | 13.40 oz |
|
Whipping cream | 0.7 cups | 160 g | 5.64 oz |
|
Sugar | 0.5 cups | 90 g | 3.17 cup |
|
Chocolate flakes | 0.25 cups | 50 g | 1.76 oz |
For each ingredient we indicate both the volume in cups and the weight in ounces and grams.
In the US, most online ice cream recipes indicate the ingredients in cups: it's a very practical unit, in which each ingredient is already converted into volume, so you don't need a scale.
👉 To be more accurate, however, we prefer to weigh all the ingredients: both solids and liquids before pouring them into the ice cream mixture.
For this you need a kitchen scale, preferably a digital one, which usually expresses the weight in ounces (oz) and/or grams (g).
👉 Especially if you're just starting out, don't fill the ice cream maker completely: making ice cream in small quantities is easier.
The chocolate you like best, of course. The original stracciatella ice cream recipe contains pure chocolate, but milk chocolate is also fine. If you are creative you can also experiment with a mix of different types of chocolate.
To cut chocolate into flakes, you can use a knife, or a grater such as those used for cutting vegetables.
The chocolate flakes should not be too large so that they do not interfere with the rotation of the mixing paddle in the ice cream maker.
For this recipe we use a popular model compressor ice cream maker.
The preparation steps are the same for most ice cream makers on the market, including the models with freezer bowl.
👉 Read also our guide on how to use the ice cream maker.
For this recipe we use one of the most popular models of compressor ice cream maker; the steps of the procedure are the same for practically all the ice cream machines on the market.
Turn on the ice cream maker: it will take a few minutes for it to reach the right temperature to make the ice cream. More or less the time it takes to mix the ingredients.
Pour the whipping cream, whole milk and sugar into a bowl: first the liquids and then the powders.
Mix the ingredients with an immersion mixer. Mix them on low speed until you get a homogeneous mixture.
No immersion mixer? A blender is also fine, of course. Use it on low speed for 1-2 minutes to get a smooth mixture.
Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and make sure that:
the ice machine is already cold.
Some ice machines display the temperature: to make ice the ice machine must be at least -7.6°F (-22°C).
The mixing paddle is already rotating.
👉 These tricks are the secret of using the ice cream maker. If the ice cream remains liquid, or the ice cream maker gets stuck before the ice cream is ready, it is usually because of this step.
Usually the ice cream maker takes a little more than 30 minutes to make ice cream: it depends on the ice cream maker, the amount of ice cream and the ingredients.
To make stracciatella ice cream, add the chocolate flakes when the ice cream is almost ready.
👉 We advise you to check the ice cream after 20 minutes by looking through the transparent lid of the ice cream maker.
When the ice cream begins to set and to look like a gelato, it is time to pour in the chocolate flakes.
Is the ice cream almost ready? Pour in the chocolate pieces and let the ice cream maker mix for another 4-5 minutes.
The ice cream is ready when the mixing paddle stops or the ice maker timer runs out.
With a little experience, you can easily understand just the right time to get the ice out of your ice cream maker.
Your Italian stracciatella gelato is ready, just like in the city of Bergamo. Buon appetito! 🍨
For all connoisseurs who, like us, can't wait until summer to enjoy a delicious homemade ice cream
Many ask us for more information about making ice cream. We've collected it all in our ice cream recipe book, available in e-book or paperback format.
Everything you want to know to make a perfect gelato at home with the ice cream maker, and our Italian recipes to learn how to make all kinds of ice cream recipes.
We regularly update these pages on Italian gelato with recipes we make at home with the ice cream maker.
