INSIDE SCOOP

Gelato vs. Ice Cream—a cinematic investigation for answers.

There’s a scene at the end of the 2017 movie Logan Lucky. In it, the character played by Channing Tatum—complete with royal blue Lowe’s Home Improvement hat and a West Virginian accent so syrupy it could be poured on pancakes—picks up his daughter from his ex-wife’s house.

As they walk to his truck, they discuss the afternoon’s plans. “So I was thinkin’,” he says to his sparkle-shoed daughter. “Putt-putt golf.” “Sure,” she responds. “As long as we get gelato after.” “Gelato,” he replies, skeptically. “Ain’t that, like, fancy ice cream?”

His daughter goes on to explain that it’s not just fancy ice cream. It’s made at a slower churn rate, so less air gets mixed in. “Churn rate?” Tatum asks. “How fast the paddle in the machine moves,” she replies authoritatively. With that, he puts his truck in gear and pulls out in search of mini-golf and fancy ice cream.

But what if gelato really is just fancy ice cream? What if that kid is—hear us out—a little liar? In search of answers we asked Ruben Toraño, Director of Pastry and Catering at Commissary. An expert in cookie baking, pie making, and dough laminating, he’s the go-to expert on all things sweet.

“First of all,” he says, “gelato has less fat than ice cream.” (Great news! Add another scoop!) “Ice cream, by law, has to contain 10% butterfat. Gelato usually comes in around five to seven percent.” But that’s not the huge differentiator. The real difference comes when the machine spins and produces overrun—a technical culinary term for “air stuck in delicious freezing cream.”

Ice cream is spun at a faster rate, which incorporates more air; gelato is churned slowly, creating a denser, more concentrated product. Here’s an easy test to help visualize: Take a scoop of ice cream and a scoop of gelato; leave them on the counter, and return five minutes later. The ice cream will be a puddle of milkshake, the gelato less so. That’s all thanks to the churn rate.

The local experts at Gelato La Boca have mastered the art, specializing in Argentinian gelato, which has a higher cream percentage than your typical Italian-style gelato. Their special pop-up inside Commissary features small-batch flavors inspired by the best of Buenos Aires, including Chocolate Dulce de Leche, Sabayon Chip, and Mango.

So as it turns out, that fictional kid was telling the truth about gelato. Sweet.

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The Details: Taste the rainbow of Gelato La Boca flavors at Commissary, 1217 Main Street. Click here for hours, menu, and more.