Otella
Elenka product code 856
A cocoa and hazelnut cream that does not freeze at low temperature, which is what makes it work as a ripple, as a cremino layer, as a ganache and as a mousse component from the same pail. It is the most versatile product in the variegate range.
Specification sheets are supplied to trade customers on request.
About Otella
Otella is the product a gelateria buys once and then finds four uses for. That is unusual enough to be worth explaining, and the explanation is a piece of physics rather than a piece of formulation cleverness.
What it is
A cocoa and hazelnut cream in Elenka's Otella line, in the classic version. It is fat-continuous — the fat is the continuous phase and there is very little free water anywhere in it.
Why that matters
Water is what freezes. A sauce with a lot of free water sets hard in a cabinet and shatters under a spatula; a variegate normally solves that by loading enough sugar to depress the freezing point far enough.
Otella sidesteps the problem. With almost no free water there is almost nothing to freeze, so its consistency barely changes between a warm bench and a minus-twelve cabinet. It is as workable in the tub as it is in the pail.
That single property is why one pail covers four jobs: a ripple through gelato, a cremino layered in a tray, a ganache, and a mousse component. It is also why the line has been in the catalogue as long as it has.
Using it as a ripple
Ten to twenty per cent of the tub weight, layered as the tub fills. Do not stir — the visible line is the product, and a stirred ripple is just a flavoured gelato with uneven colour.
Do not warm it first. It is workable as it comes, and warming thins it to the point where the line loses definition as the tub fills.
Where it sits against the alternatives
Against a crunch-bearing ripple like Ambrogio, Otella is the smooth option: no inclusion, nothing to go soft, and no working life measured in hours. It is the ripple to use in a tub that will sit for a day.
Against a gianduia paste, it is a different way of getting to a similar flavour. The paste makes the whole tub taste of hazelnut and chocolate; the ripple keeps a base flavour intact and puts the chocolate through it in visible seams. Run the numbers both ways — a plain base with a ripple is often cheaper than a paste-flavoured tub, and it photographs better.
What we do not publish
Ingredients, allergens, shelf life and storage conditions are absent from this page because no Elenka specification sheet is held for the Australian range. Absent means the data is not held, never that the answer is no. This is a cocoa and hazelnut product, so the tree-nut declaration matters — request the sheet.
Technical specifications
| Recommended dosage | 10–20% per kg of mix — Percentage of tub weight, layered as the tub fills rather than stirred. |
|---|---|
| Format | 2.5 kg pail, 4 per carton |
| Applications | ripple, cremino, layered gelato, ganache and mousse |
| Elenka product code | 856 |
Full specification on request
The ingredient list, allergen declaration, shelf life and storage conditions for Otella are provided on the Elenka specification sheet. We supply it on request — please do not rely on the product name when answering a customer allergen enquiry.
Related products
Ambrogio Classic
A chocolate variegate carrying cocoa, hazelnuts and wafer pieces, so it brings texture as well as a line. It is the ripple customers notice, and the one whose crunch has a working life measured in hours rather than days.
Code 11902.5 kgGianduia Messina
A Sicilian reading of gianduia, the hazelnut-and-chocolate pairing usually associated with Turin. The dosage range of 100 to 150 grams per litre of mix is the useful part: it lets one pail produce a restrained gianduia or a chocolate-forward one without any other change.
Code 11853 kgSalsa Cioccolato
The chocolate topping in Elenka's Salsa line: semi-dense, glossy, and formulated not to solidify against a frozen surface. It is the highest-volume topping in most cabinets and the one whose quality is most visible, because chocolate over vanilla hides nothing.
Code 3051 kgAmbrogio Pistacchio
The pistachio member of the Ambrogio variegate line, made with Sicilian pistachios. It is the smoothest route to a pistachio ripple in the range — flavour and colour without an inclusion whose texture expires by mid-afternoon.
Code 11942.5 kg
Frequently asked questions
Why does it stay soft in the freezer?
Because it is a fat-continuous system with very little free water in it. There is almost nothing to freeze, so the temperature of a cabinet has little effect on its consistency — which is what lets one product serve as a ripple, a cremino layer and a ganache.
How much do I use per tub?
Ten to twenty per cent of the tub weight, layered as the tub fills rather than stirred in. Below ten the line disappears into the gelato; above twenty the tub is hard to portion evenly and the ripple takes over the flavour.
Can I use it to make cremino in a tray?
Yes, and it is one of its intended uses. Because it does not set hard, the layers stay distinct and stay cuttable, where a chocolate that sets would shatter under the knife.
Does it need to be warmed before use?
Not usually. It is workable at room temperature, and warming it thins it enough that the ripple line loses definition when the tub is filled.