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What is the difference between ice cream, gelato, and sorbet? They look different, but are they made differently?

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First of all, the names vary a bit from country to country, or the ingredients do. I'll explain the most common names/ingredients.

The main difference is in the ingredients used. Sorbet is basically water + sugar + fruit, while ice cream and gelato is milk/cream + sugar + fruit. So the last two are more 'creamy', while sorbet is more 'icy'.

You can say that ice cream is a type of gelato, but there still is a difference. More sugar in gelato, more butterfat (the percentage of fat in the milk/cream) in ice cream.

You can read quite a lot about ice cream on wikipedia.

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+1 for recognising that these words are not absolute, and vary from culture to culture. We do a fruit vodka sorbet with cream (basically a sorbet made from fruit infused vodka with cream stirred in at the end). If you are brave try it with chilli vodka !!! – TFD May 14 '11 at 12:30
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I think you probably had the right idea, but your comparison of gelato and ice cream came out a little off. Gelato has more sugar and less butterfat than ice cream (wikipedia notes some typical percentages). Also, I might describe sorbet as icy rather than watery. – Jefromi♦ May 14 '11 at 13:26
Thanks for the 'icy', it was the word I was looking for :-) – Mien May 14 '11 at 13:39
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@TFD: In some places, sorbet with a little cream mixed in is known as "sherbet" (although the words have almost identical etymology). – Josh Caswell May 14 '11 at 18:02
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You might also note the difference between ice cream made with custard (cooked eggs, sugar, and cream) and ice cream made with only dairy. – Josh Caswell May 14 '11 at 18:06
up vote -2 down vote

Gelato is kind of Italian icecream, which has more sugar & Fat content .

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