Page 110 - #60 English
P. 110

I   Iced








                                              The  importance of
                                           training




                                                 for a



                            gelato-maker








                   Hand-made gelato is even                                  public is quite another matter, that
               more complicated than industrial                             requires meticulous and in-depth train-
               gelato. Its storage and point-of-sale                        ing.
               temperatures, its creamy texture and                            Given that it is food, first of all,
               spreadability make handmade gelato                          a gelato parlor operator needs to have a
               both unstable and prone to melting and                     good understanding of the risks involved
               destructuring in the short term.                          with the product, the right display and
                   A quality product, i.e. one that is                   storage  temperatures, notions  of HACCP
               both easy to market and well-loved by                    (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point),
               consumers, can only be achieved by train-               hygiene, sanitation, cross-contamination and
               ing the gelato craftsmen various skills, some           at least rudiments of the legislation regarding
               of which are anything but trivial.                     the sector. This type of training is of paramount
                   It is important to note that formulat-             importance for the production of safe and
               ing  gelato is not particularly difficult because     wholesome food, something that far exceeds the
               it involves a relatively small number of raw         importance of producing “good food” and which
               materials and compound ingredients that are          should be the starting point for any expertise or
               mixed together when hot or cold and then            craftsmanship.
               creamed. So-called “recipe balancing”, i.e. har-        A well- trained craftsman needs to keep up to
               monizing five or six parameters in the recipe      date on these issues, which should ideally be en-
               (sugars, fats, non-fat milk solids, different solids, SP,   trusted to institutions that are qualified to train on the
               AFP ...) is something that you can learn quickly when   matter (for example universities and colleges, health au-
               you attend the excellent short training courses held   thorities or veterinary departments etc.). AIIPA member
               by ingredients companies from AIIPA’s Products for   firms hold courses and meetings on these topics, taught by
               Gelato Group. These companies are the most experi-  highly-qualified food technologists, that can compensate
               enced in this field, having carried out decades of   the lack of open public courses on these vital issues.
               systematic research into ingredients and structure in   If we take it as given that a gelato craftsman needs
               the gelato field.                             expertise in hygiene, the next step in creating a true profes-
                   The comparative lack of technological skills and   sional lies in providing the expertise required to develop a
               know-how required, compared to pastries, for example,   gelato-based product.
               is one of the reasons why gelato parlors have been   Far more important (and this is what helps stand out
               springing up all over Italy and abroad, a factor which   from industrial gelato) than which “pure” ingredients and
               no doubt has some very positive knock-on effects,   semi-finished products to use in the mix, and the propor-
               especially in terms of good visibility outside Italy.  tions for each, it is crucial to know what to do with that
                   So if gelato-making in itself is quite simple, open-  mix. The true distinction between hand-made production
               ing up a gelato parlor and making gelato to sell to the   and pseudo-craft methods (a phenomenon which is on the






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