Strawberry Gelato I

I consider making gelato as the culmination of my frozen treat journey which started with ice cream, granita, followed by sorbet and a couple of sherbets. I saved making it last for a couple of reasons. Part of it is not having all the necessary ingredients when I have time to make it plus the fact that I started the frozen treat series with ice cream so I will end with ice cream too. And then seeing strawberries on sale everywhere is like a hard nudge of a reminder that it’s time to make gelato. I got 16 oz mini baskets at $1.29 each and they’re the nice and sweet-smelling bunch.

Gelato if you still don’t know is an Italian ice cream. It is made of pureed fruits or nuts; cream and sugar- pretty much like American ice cream except that only 20% air is whipped into it as opposed to 60% for American ice cream. The fruit and cream mixture is refrigerated for 8 hours or much better overnight before transferring to the ice cream maker to be churned slowly so it doesn’t get that much air hence the dense texture and more intense flavor. It may be served soft or you may opt to freeze it longer to have a firmer texture although gelatos need not be stored at maximum cold temperature like regular ice cream so it is firm but still easy to scoop.

I decided to have two versions of my strawberry gelato- this one being the easier and much simpler version gets the first chance to shine. The recipe is from the Food Network site and I just picked it from a bunch of gelato recipes because it seemed like a no-fuss recipe and it is.

Strawberry Gelato

Ingredients:

12 ounces fresh strawberries (hull removed)
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

In a blender combine the strawberries, sugar and whole milk and puree until smooth.

Add in the heavy cream and mix just enough to combine (you do not want to whip the cream).

Add in the lemon juice. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Refrigerating overnight is best because it will allow the flavor to intensify.

Transfer the mixture into an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

You can serve it soft

Or freeze for a couple of hours for a firmer consistency

Despite the negative comments of some who tried the recipe, I'm glad mine turned out right. It has the right amount of sweetness and creaminess which complement the tart strawberries. And most of all, so easy to make. I will definitely try this recipe on other fruits.