Curacao has her own artesian Gelato since April 2010 made by IJSCOWD. IJSCOWD prepares Italian gelato with regional products in the original, traditional manner.

At the moment is IJscowd Gelato’s only to be found in the better restaurants and hotels, the
ordinary consumer may not buy directly from IJSCOWD at this moment. But this will be changing soon.

From Air Force pilot to Gelato entrepreneur.

Norbert Dooper, born in The Netherlands, flew almost 18 years for the Dutch Air Force; also on Curacao. After the end of his term at the Air Force he followed his second passion, the preparation of artisan ice cream. And since there is nowhere else you can learn to make better gelato than in Italy; he took the time to do his tasting & training in birth country of Gelato.

After this training he included a period of internship at a known gelateria in Northern Italy, before returning to return to Curacao.

The big difference between ice (icecream) and craft Gelato / Sorbetto

Note; factory Ice-cream is mainly made of powders and chemicals. It contains around the 18% fat and consists of a very high percentage of air. Air has no taste thus the manufacturer must add flavor to the product so the consumer can perceive the taste. And furthermore, with as much air, many chemicals are needed for the end product to keep stable and also to keep the consistency. Advantage of factory ice cream is that it is cheap. A good way to check the quality of ice-cream is to be aware of the price; when a liter of ice cream, ex-factory, cheaper than a liter of milk you know that it is not artesian quality.

Italian gelato is handmade of real milk and real ingredients such as Belgian chocolate, roasted peanuts or pistachios from Sicily etc. It contains 6 -8 % fat and only 20 to 40 % of air. There are no chemicals or powders to adjust and a good taste to achieve top quality ingredients are therefore essential.

Sorbetto are made of water and fruit, IJSCOWD typically uses around 60 % real fruit. Whne possible IJSCOWD uses as much locally produced fruit as possible. And of course there are no taste substances or other chemicals. An additional advantage is that the Sorbetto IJSCOWD’s 0 % fat.

Because of the craft process, the use of real fruit and high quality ingredients is Italian gelato is a lot more expensive than factory ice-cream. However, because artisan Gelato contains little air, it is much more compact and the taste experience much more intense. The pure taste of a product of top quality remains on the tongue and in the mouth and provides endless reminisce. Craft Italian Gelato is a treat and is therefore not a meal.
Although sometimes we wish it was.