Fruits
Cherry in gelato
Fresh sweet cherry (Prunus avium) is a high-water, moderately sweet stone fruit used as a puree or pieces in gelato and sorbetto. Its sugars are glucose-dominant with notable sorbitol, giving it a high anti-freezing (PAC) power relative to its sugar load.
Balancing parameters
Per 100 g of product, verified against independent food-science sources (listed below).
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Solids | 16% |
| Water | 84% |
| Sugars | 12.8% |
| Fat | 0.2% |
| MSNF | 0% |
| Protein | 1% |
| POD (sweetening power) | 15 |
| PAC (anti-freezing power) | 26 |
Typical use: 20-35% of the mix as fruit/puree for cherry sorbetto; 15-25% for a milk-based cherry gelato
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Open the balancerHow to use it in gelato
Use ripe sweet cherry as puree or macerated pieces, typically pitted and lightly cooked or blended raw. Its sugar profile is glucose- and fructose-rich with sorbitol, so per gram of sugar it depresses the freezing point far more than sucrose (PAC ~26 vs a sucrose-equivalent of ~13) while adding only modest sweetness (POD ~15). Practically, cherry softens the finished gelato and lowers serving-temperature hardness, so trim added dextrose/invert or total sugars to keep the mix in your PAC target. Balance its natural tartness with sucrose and consider a touch of lemon to lift flavour. In white-base cherry gelato account for the ~84% water it contributes.
Origin & background
The sweet cherry, Prunus avium, has been eaten since prehistory and cultivated across Europe and Asia Minor for millennia. Pliny the Elder credited the Roman general Lucullus with popularising cultivated cherries in Rome around 72 BC after his campaigns near Cerasus in Pontus, the town from which the fruit's name is said to derive. Today the leading producers include Turkey, the United States and Chile.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Cherries%2C_raw%2C_sweet_nutritional_value.html (USDA FoodData Central, Cherries, raw, sweet)
- https://www.aprifel.com/en/nutritional-sheet/cherry/ (Aprifel / French CIQUAL national food table)
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814607007790 (Usenik et al., Food Chemistry 2008: sugars, organic acids and sorbitol of sweet cherry)
- https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/21/3660 (Nutrients 2024 review, sweet cherry composition incl. sorbitol range)