Are you confused about what kind of gelato maker you need to make basic gelato? Do you feel intimidated by the number of gelato machines out there on the market? Don’t fret. Here is a basic sketch of how a gelato machine works. Knowing how a gelato machine works and the parts involved in making gelato will help you during your selection process.
To begin with, gelato typically consists of three basic ingredients: milk, fruit and sugar. These ingredients must be mixed together in order to make gelato the creamy and smooth product that you know and love. After this creamy and smooth mixture is created, it is frozen and served.
Gelato makers bring all the above mentioned ingredients together by mixing, churning and then freezing them. Many gelato machines will have a self-contained refrigeration compressor. Standard ice cream makers are not equipped to lower the temperature of added ingredients to below freezing. More complex gelato makers will even mix gelato ingredients long after they are frozen. This allows the gelato to set and to be ready to eat after about an hour.
The cost of a household gelato maker will vary depending on its make, features (e.g. timer, stainless steel bowl), and size (e.g., 1 quart, 2 quarts, 4 quarts) Gelato makers can range in price from as little as $100 to as much as $5,000 or more. Generally, most households go with a gelato maker that is priced from $200 to $700. For example, the popular Lello 4070 Gelato Junior carries a list price of about $300 and can be found in many household kitchens. The DeLonghi GM6000 runs about $350 and is another popular consumer choice. Both the Lello 4070 and the DeLonghi GM6000 offer self-contained refrigeration units.



Here are the typical parts found on standard gelato makers:

Bowl: In most cases, gelato ingredients are mixed in a bowl. That bowl can be made of a metal like aluminum or it may even be a wooden barrel. It is surrounded by a bigger bowl that contains a freezing mixture such as salt and ice. The addition of salt to ice results in freezing-point depression, allowing the ice to actually freeze the gelato. Modern bowls are often composed of a hollow surrounding wall that is pre-filled with a freezing mixture, eliminating the need for the exterior bowl and for the constant addition of salt and ice. Such a bowl must be placed in the freezer first before it can be used in the making of gelato.
Paddle or dasher: Gelato ingredients need to be constantly mixed and churned in order to prevent water crystal formation. The mixing and churning of gelato also helps aerate it, making it smooth and creamy. The first hand-crank machine was invented by Nancy Johnson in 1847. While the gelato paddle may be manual, nowadays it is more commonly operated by an electric motor. In some motorized gelato machines, the paddle moves while the bowl remains stationary; in other gelato machines, the paddle remains stationary while the bowl moves.
Freezer: In basic gelato machines, there is no built-in freezer unit and the final gelato mixture must be frozen in a separate freezer. More expensive gelato machines include a built-in compressor freezer that cools and then freezes the gelato into solid form. In such cases, the paddle (or paddles) of the gelato maker will turn at a constant rate while the unit is cooling down the gelato. Once the gelato has been sufficiently frozen, the paddle/s will stop turning and lift up. The gelato can be ready in as little as 30 minutes once the freezing process is initiated.