Sharon Smith out in Monroe wrote, “Just reading your strawberry column of the 4th of July. Have a recipe to share for strawberry gelato.” I had been thinking about making strawberry sorbet using the same recipe as I used for apple sorbet. Some of you may remember that one. And Sharon’s recipe intrigued me. I made both because I had so many strawberries. At least one in my household said, “I think I like this gelato even better than the sorbet.”
Sharon reported that she found the gelato recipe in a favorite cookbook by Marcella Hazan but she made a variation using low fat yogurt, and said “It was just as good as the version with cream. Couldn’t tell the difference.” Nice work. It’s great to have something cool and flavorful that doesn’t pack on the fat.
At this point in the strawberry patch, I am getting lots of little berries, sometimes a bit on the knobby side, but still sweet and full of strawberry flavor. And in order to do something with them quickly before they spoiled, I threw them in the food processor and turned them into puree which I froze. About a quart of berries yields two cups. Those are the ones I used for sorbet.
For the gelato I used fresh berries but now that I have a good many frozen ones, I will use those and weigh them out on my little kitchen scale. A half pound of berries is about a pint basketful.
The sorbet is more intensely strawberry flavored than the gelato and the gelato is a bit smoother and aromatic. It is also a very pretty pink, perfect for some kind of little princess birthday party. If I could figure out how to get the pictures on my camera into my computer I would show you. Meanwhile, I hope you just try it and see for yourself.
Here are both recipes.
Strawberry Sorbet
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
2 cups strawberry puree
juice of one lemon
Mix these together and chill very well. Put into the ice cream maker and freeze until very thick, or freeze in a stainless steel bowl and scrape down the sides periodically until you have your desired consistency. Pack into a container and keep frozen until use.
Makes a scant quart.
Strawberry Gelato
½ lb. fresh strawberries
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup water
¼ cup cold whipping cream or low-fat yogurt
Prepare the strawberries by hulling and halving them, if large. Put berries and sugar into a food processor, process for a few moments, then add the water and continue to process until they are liquified. Put into a mixing bowl. Whip the cream until it thickens slightly then fold it or the yogurt into the strawberry mixture. Chill very well before using the ice cream maker. Keep frozen until use.
Makes a pint and a half, about four servings.