The flavor of the Wild Strawberry sorbetto had a mind-blowing intense strawberry flavor.

The Double Dutch Chocolate gelato made me close my eyes in a dreamy state of mind as it melted and bathed my taste buds with its deep rich chocolate creaminess.

The Rocky Mountain High ice cream was over the top. It’s cherry ice cream studded with Bourdeaux cherry halves and chocolate chunks. It’s considered the signature flavor being offered at the newly opened Pikes Peak Ice Cream & Gelato, 481 Highway 105 in Monument. The little shop is located in a strip mall behind Rosie’s Diner.

When you walk into the store, you will be dazzled by the case housing the gelatos and sorbettos. The range of colors is beautiful and inviting. The fluffy ways they are piled into their containers beg to be sampled.

Owners Rick and Denise Hauf are eager to offer as many samples as you’d care to try. For me, it was hard not to order a scoop of each of the dozen or so I tried. I finally settled on the coconut and pineapple gelato. As I ate the brightly flavored chilly treat, Rick gave me a lesson in the differences between gelato, sorbetto and ice cream. It starts with fat content.

“Ice cream (by law) has a minimum of 10 percent fat,” he said. “We make our gelato with skim milk, so it has 6 to 8 percent fat. Sorbetto is made with water, so there’s no fat and it’s a good choice for those with lactose intolerance.”

Rick, who got most of his ice cream training in Baltimore, prides himself on getting high-quality ingredients.

“We get our gelato and sorbetto ingredients from Italy,” he said. “The gelato maker came from Italy, too. We got training from a gelato master before we opened the store.”

Another difference between ice cream and gelato is the way they are churned, which causes air to be whipped into the product.

“The amount of air that is trapped in the final gelato product is about 35 to 40 percent,” he said. “Our ice cream has about 50 to 60 percent air. That’s why it’s so heavy and dense. Commercially made ice cream often exceeds 100 percent air. Air increases the volume.”

He explained that commercial ice cream might start with two gallons of milk, but by the time it’s churned, it can end up making five gallons of ice cream. So you’re buying a lot of air instead of creamy goodness.

Finally, there’s the difference in serving temperatures for ice cream and gelato.

“Ice cream is served frozen at 0 degrees (Fahrenheit), while gelato is not,” he said. “Gelato and sorbetto are served at 10 to 15 degrees.”

Rick is a fan of teaching people how to make gelato, especially children.

“We have a program called Ice Cream Maker for a Day,” he said. “It’s a fun idea for birthday parties.”

A child decides what flavor of gelato they want to make. Rick takes them to the kitchen where they learn how to mix the ingredients and push the buttons to make the gelato. Fifteen minutes later they are serving the dessert to their friends.

In addition to ice cream, gelato and sorbetto, look for Denise’s homemade cinnamon rolls and other baked goods to be filling the bakery cabinet soon.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and, noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. Call 1-719-313-9484 or visit pikespeakicecream.com.

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Reach Farney at 636-0271. She appears Tuesdays on KOAA’s Comcast Channel 5 at noon.

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