It’s hard to find a better summer treat than strawberry ice cream. As always, bonus points for freshly picked strawberries, but you can get the wonderful summer flavor from store bought, too. The secret to the best strawberry flavor is roasting. Read on and see for yourself!
Last weekend my folks presented me with a container of fresh strawberries they picked up at an Amish Farmers’ Market. They were ruby red and absolutely gorgeous, in a not-from-the-supermarket way. Their shapes were slightly distorted, their sizes uneven, and yet, they smelled like pure strawberry, in a way Bonne Bell Lip Smackers can only wish for.
The beauty of growing your own fruits and vegetables or buying local is that they have a certain ugly beauty, which is not an oxymoron at all. The Japanese call this gorgeous imperfection “Wabi-sabi” and it is what makes a piece of pottery (or fruit) special and clearly not mass produced.
My husband’s favorite ice cream is strawberry. In fact, it can be a point of frustration between us when we go to Convention Grill for dinner. We always split a malt, and it always has to be strawberry. Their malts, even a 1/2 order, are fit for a family of 4, so I can never finish one on my own and prefer to share. But does it ALWAYS have to be strawberry? Yep, married for 35 years in August and that is what the man likes, so be it.
Roast Your Strawberries For Flavor
When I saw the container of strawberries from the farmers’ market I knew instantly that I would use them in ice cream. The color was outrageous and they just begged to be dipped in cream, but not until I roasted them in a touch of balsamic to add even more character.
I roasted them to concentrate the sugars and to get rid of the excess water content before mixing them in the vanilla custard ice cream base. This produced a more intense strawberry flavor and a much smoother, less icy consistency. I like to leave some chunks in my fruit ice cream to add texture and drive the favor home, but not if those chunks are hard as a rock. Roasting the fruit first created the perfect flavor and texture. I even made a malted milkshake for my husband with it, which was CRAZY good!
Ice Cream Equipment Equipment
- Cuisinart Compressor Ice Cream and Gelato Maker: There are machines with compressors in them, which means you make your ice cream base, turn on the machine and it starts freezing almost instantly. My mother-in-law found a Simac il Gelataio ice cream machine at a garage sale for $10. It works perfectly and churns the best ice cream I’ve ever made outside a professional kitchen. Mine was twice as much, but at $25 I’m not complaining, since they sell used on eBay for $150. I’m not sure Simac makes a home machine anymore, but there are plenty of other models that have compressors built in and if you’re a frequent ice cream maker, then I HIGHLY recommend splurging.
- Cuisinart 2-Quart Ice Cream Maker: This is a fantastic machine for those who just make ice cream once in a while and have some room in their freezer. It makes great ice cream, but if you don’t park that bowl in your freezer you’ll need to plan about 24 hours ahead. I’ve tried to rush the process and end up super disappointed with a sloshy mess of ice cream. It’s also worth investing in a second bowl if you want to make lots of ice cream and don’t want to wait for the first bowl to refreeze.
- Wood Bucket Electric Ice Cream Maker with Salt and Ice: Never underestimate the relevance of tradition. When I worked at Ben & Jerry’s while I was attending the University of Vermont, all the ice cream in the store was made in a bucket just like this. Not any more, but if it was good enough to launch that ice cream empire, then it’s good enough for us.
How to Make Strawberry Ice Cream Step by Step
You’ll find the full recipe at the end of this post.
To make this recipe, start with 1 batch vanilla ice cream base.
To roast the strawberries
Toss the berries with the balsamic and sugar, lay them out on a Nonstick Silicone Mat
Scoop the fruit and all of its sugars into a bowl. Add the corn syrup to the fruit, it will add sweetness, but will keep the ice cream a silky smooth texture.
I like to use a potato masher to crush the berries, which leaves small chunks of fruit. If you prefer a smooth ice cream you can puree the berries with an immersion blender. Chill the berries until they are very cold.
Add the berries to the vanilla ice cream base and freeze according to your Ice Cream Maker
While it is in the machine, place a bowl in the freezer to have ready to scoop the ice cream into. Once the ice cream is frozen to a soft-serve consistency, scoop it into the frozen bowl and place it in the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up.
Pro Tip: I put an empty Pullman Loaf Pan
Serving Ice Cream
This seems like a silly tip, but how you serve the ice cream will make a big difference. If you can serve it within an hour of churning it, that is ideal. But, that isn’t always possible. If you remove the ice cream from the freezer and it is very hard, you’ll want to let it sit for up to 10 minutes or longer for super dense ice cream. This will “temper” the ice cream and put it at a nice consistency for scooping and eating. If it is too cold it won’t scoop nicely and you won’t taste the subtle flavors.
Ice Cream Scoop – I like these simple scoops, since they are so useful for making muffins, cupcakes, cookies and other tasty things that need portioning.
More Recipes to Try
Chocolate Ice Cream – A classic. This recipe is Philadelphia-style ice cream, which means it’s egg-free.
Roasted Banana Ice Cream – this post has my ice cream base that you can use for anything from simple vanilla to chunky monkey banana.
The TRICK to Smooth Sorbet from any fruit – An easy way to make sure your sorbet freezes to just the right consistency.
Equipment
- Non-stick silicone mat
- Baking sheet with sides
- Potato masher or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 1 recipe vanilla ice cream base
- 3/4 lb fresh strawberries
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar preferably aged
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp corn syrup
Instructions
- Start by making your vanilla ice cream base.
- Toss the berries with the balsamic and sugar, lay them out on a Nonstick Silicone Mat covered baking sheet. Make sure you use one with sides, because the juices will over run the pan. Place the pan in the oven and turn it on to 300°F and slowly roast them until they have given up their juices and are kind of mushy looking. Their color will also be darker. This will take about 30 to 45 minutes depending on the size of the fruit.
- Scoop the fruit and all of its sugars into a bowl. Add the corn syrup to the fruit, it will add sweetness, but will keep the ice cream a silky smooth texture.
- I like to use a potato masher to crush the berries, which leaves small chunks of fruit. If you prefer a smooth ice cream you can puree the berries with an immersion blender. Chill the berries until they are very cold.
- Add the berries to the vanilla ice cream base and freeze according to your Ice Cream Maker's instructions.
- While it is in the machine, place a bowl in the freezer to have ready to scoop the ice cream into. Once the ice cream is frozen to a soft-serve consistency, scoop it into the frozen bowl and place it in the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up.
- Scoop and eat it as is or make it into a malted milk shake.
This looks just lovely. We used to always tease my dad for choosing strawberry ice cream while we dipped into more exotic flavors, but now looking at your pictures, I think he might have been onto something. Strawberries are my favorite fruit. I never thought of roasting them so I will have to give it a try.
How did I miss this?? Roasting the strawb first? What a great idea! You genius!
Such a wonderful idea! It makes complete sense. Now if only a bowl would suddenly appear right now.
Roasting the strawberries? That is absolute genius! Love it! 🙂
Yum! Those roasted strawberries look so delicious! I would have never thought to do that but it looks sooo good! And I know exactly what you mean by the smell of farmers market strawberries, and the strange shapes! They’re so amazing though 🙂
Fresh picked strawberries are unreal delicious! Love the idea of roasting them AND of adding balsamic.
What other fruits would you roast before making them into ice cream? Peaches and apricots?
Hi Wendy,
I think this process will help concentrate the sugars and rid the excess water content of most all fruits! Both Peaches and apricots will be wonderful, but will take longer to roast.
Thanks, Zoë
What a beautiful recipe, Zoë. I will definitely try roasting my strawberries before putting them in my ice cream. Thanks!
strawberry is my husband’s favorite flavor also. must make this for him! that scoop is perfection. thank u!
Oh..I love this roasty toasty ice cream! Must have tasted delightful. Would like to do the same with my mango ice cream also.
Cannot wait to try this soon. Our strawberries here in CA aren’t very sweet yet so I’m sure the combination of balsamic, sugar and roasting will make them taste amazing! Love your blog!
Pure delicious gorgeous genius! Can’t wait to try. YUM!
This is a WOW. Gorgeous!
for those of us without an ice cream maker, could we stir these into pre-made vanilla and refreeze or spoon over it?
lovely pics as usual.
Hi Patrica,
Unfrozen ice cream base is called “creme anglaise” and is fantastic spooned over everything from cake to more berries or just eaten late at night with a spoon! 🙂
Enjoy, Zoë
Your ice cream is so very, very pretty. I love strawberries with balsamic and can only imagine the depth of flavor – I would love just one scoop.
Ohhh I’m thinking roasted mango ice cream!!!!!!!
Love it! I’ve always believed that almost any vegetable is better roasted, but it never occurred to me to roast strawberries. Must try soonest!
I made a roasted strawberry ice cream fro Canada Day with a Chocolate Balsamic sauce. Just so good!!!!!
Is there a substitution for the balsamic vinegar?
Hi Jennifer,
You can leave the balsamic out of the recipe, but it really doesn’t taste at all vinegary. It is like adding just the right amount of salt to a recipe, it enhances it, without really knowing why it tastes better.
Thanks, Zoë
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
Even when having strawberries normally, I always add a little balsamic vinegar and sugar or Splenda. It makes them so much more flavourful.
Oh yummy! Must try this. Thank you for sharing!
I was literally JUST reading about roasted strawberries in chicago’s Edible e-zine (which I’m probably the very last person ever to discover). This sounds like an amazing way to use them up and I just got a bunch of beautiful strawberries this past weekend. Thank you for sharing!
Hey Z could you send me a batch of ice cream with them unroasted and another batch roasted so I could compare? (lol) Wonder if this applies to all berries?:o)
so INTERESTING! I would never have thought of roasting strawberries. sounds amazing…and the ice cream is beautiful!
p.s. you are a good wife! 😉
Hi Jane,
I know, right! How do you think we made it to 20 years!? 😉
Thanks, Zoë