Hello Gelo, 15 Anderson St Yarraville. Phone: 90785696

As previously and recently noted, Hello Gelo in Yarraville is very much our go-to place for gelati.

Indeed, we love Scott and what he does, dig checking out his new flavours and can barely imagine life without our several-times-a-week visits to his Anderson Street emporium.

So we are excited to invited to witness him whipping up some of his gelati magic.

Scott has been running Hello Gelo here for about 4 1/2 years, having sold his Carlton cafe about three years ago.

We have questions.

Is there a difference between gelati and ice cream?

The answer appears to be “no” but also a significant “yes”.

As I understand it, ice cream is higher in fat but has more air, while gelati is lower in fat but is a much denser product.

Fat-wise, this would seem to balance out.

But I’m also left in even less doubt that when it comes to ice cream/gelati, you get what you pay for.

Budget-priced supermarket brands cost what they do because of ingredients (“padding”) the details of which you may not want to know.

As it is, our admiration for Scott and his products grows in leaps and bounds as we watch him in action and hear about how he goes about his work.

The attention to detail and solid determination to use only the best ingredients is fantastic!

Here is a man, for instance, who makes his own hokey pokey using golden syrup, castor sugar and bicarb.

You reckon that’s what you may be getting in your generic brand ice cream?

I don’t think so!

He uses fresh fruit where available, affordable and applicable.

For other flavours, he uses frozen fruit just because the flavour is better or, in the case of the gorgeous-smelling amarena cherrys, a premium imported product simply because it has to be that way.

When we arrive, he has already prepared the bases of the four flavours he will be making – forest berry sorbet, raspberry ice cream, black cherry yogurt bubblegum.

The bases consist of dextrose, sugar, skim milk powder and natural vegetable gums.

Those bases are then poured into his Corema gelati machine along with full-fat milk and the fruit or flavourings.

For ripple gelatis, such as today’s black cherry yogurt or hokey pokey or anything involving solids such as nuts, Scott deftly uses a spatula to weave the goodies into the gelati as it exits the machine.

The gelati straight of the machine tastes delicious, of course, but has the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.

A couple of hours in Scott’s “shock freezer” fixes that up and then they’re ready to sell.

Scott tells us his most popular flavours are chocolate and salted caramel.

Quantities vary, but last summer found him making 300 litres in a two-day period.

And yes, in summer and on hot days, he sells way more of his dairy-free sorbets or ices.