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I Story / Zhoe Zhang

I n ancient Egypt, juice with ice was served to the

rich and powerful only. In the Old Testament,
King Solomon was fond of iced drink. While in
ancient Rome, Alexander the Great enjoyed snow
and ice with honey on top. These were probably the first
water-based ice creams in the world.
The water-based ice creams then later became what we
know today as sorbetto, or sorbet in English. “The word
sorbetto originates from the fruit in Rome called ‘Sorba’. It
was a kind of cherries, and people in ancient Rome liked to
put them inside the snow or the ice,” said Edoardo Noce,
marketing manager of FABBRI Shanghai.
[1]
When it comes to sorbet, many people have this impres-
sion: Icy and refreshing. Well, that is a misunderstanding. Due
to the lack of advanced technologies and skills at the time, the
sorbet we had in our childhood was more like an ice pop and
very easy to melt. However, in fact, a sorbet can have a creamy
texture like gelato, which melts slowly. In recent years, we
have seen more water-based ice creams and gelatos coming
out, which you can’t even tell are made without milk.
The ‘Creamy’ Disguise?

Creamy, according to the definition by the Cambridge
Dictionary, means containing cream or like cream. If ice
cream contains cream to make it creamy, then for sorbet or
water-based ice cream it is all about “like cream”. However,
to turn ‘water’ into ‘cream’, how does the magic happen?
Premium ingredients, a balanced base, and a proper
machine are the three key points, as Raul Mora, general
manager of FABRRI Shanghai, told CTI.
The first and most important element is ingredients.
Unlike American style or the hard ice cream that we get from
supermarkets which uses much fat to lower the cost, for
sorbet and also gelato, only premium ingredients are allowed.
This gives sorbet and gelato “a much denser texture and
richer mouth feel”, as it doesn’t have much air whipped into
the base as it does to the fat, according to Chef Jenny McCoy,
chef instructor from The Institute of Culinary Education in
an interview with People. For water-based ice cream, the
flavor and taste of the ingredients are not able to hide because
the base is only water and sugar. That means an even higher
standard for ingredients is required.

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