Here is something to wet your whistle regarding that last tip. Make up a quick and inexpensive batch of strawberry gelato – and no you don’t need a machine.
By Eve Victory
Ingredients
• 2 cups (16floz/450ml) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (6oz/170g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (8floz/225ml) heavy whipping cream (36%)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups (6oz/170g) strawberries, pureed
• 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- In a heavy-bottom saucepan, add the milk. Place over medium-low heat until it comes to a gentle simmer.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Temper the eggs by slowly pouring in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously. Pour this custard back into the same saucepan and place over low heat.
- Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon for roughly 6-8 minutes or until the custard has thickened slightly and coats the back of a spoon. Do not bring to a boil or it will curdle. (See tips above about saving curdled custard)
- Pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and let cool down at room temperature, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Add in salt and vanilla to the custard and mix. To cool the custard quickly place the custard in an ice bath (see video above). Once completely cooled, cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When the custard base is cold, begin to whip the cream on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the custard base into the whipped cream until smooth and thickened. Don’t beat or you will deflate the whipped cream.
- Stir together the pureed strawberries and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Then, stir this into the gelato base.
- Pour the gelato into a loaf pan or any freezer-safe container and place it in the freezer. Now, after 30-60 minutes go in a whip it up to break up the ice crystals. Do this roughly 2-3 times until it thickens up (see video for step by step).
- Allow freezing for another 4-5 hours or until frozen before scooping. If hard to scoop allow the gelato to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes until it softens slightly.
- Cover well and store in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.
How To Store Strawberry Gelato
Store gelato in a tightly covered, freezer-safe container in the freezer. Make sure it is always covered because no one likes gelato that tastes like freezer burn, and it will keep happily in your freezer for up to 6 weeks. If your gelato lasted that long more power to you!
A native New Yorker, Eve Victory has called Hot Springs home since 2003. Working for years as an event and tradeshow planner and personal chef, Eve is currently the Hospitality and Tourism Instructor at National Park College. For information on how to turn your education into a career in the second largest industry in Hot Springs, contact Eve at evictory@np.edu.
