Strawberry and Black Vinegar Ice Cream

This is an update of an earlier recipe, Gelato Di Fragole.

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Instead of balsamic vinegar, I have used a Korean black vinegar concentrate.

Growing up in Malaysia, my mother had the following Chinese vinegars in her store cupboard: white vinegar, and black vinegar. I didn’t like either…actually I didn’t like vinegar at all.

When I first started cooking in England, I discovered red and white wine vinegars and cider vinegar.

I am quite used to vinegars now and of course, balsamic vinegar (along with olive oil) is a staple in dressing Italian salads and for dipping bread into.

Along comes Korean (white) vinegar with flavours such as lemon, apple and plum.

 

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On my recent trip to Seoul, I was introduced to a Korean vinegar drink. The vinegar concentrate is diluted with water (or milk) until the taste is right for you. The concept of drinking vinegar is a strange one to me.*

However, I could see the potential for using the flavoured black vinegar in cooking. For example, I definitely knew the berries vinegar could be used in making strawberry ice cream. Pomegranate vinegar could be used in a salad dressing or as a kind of loose substitute for pomegranate molasses.

Not wanting to cart a whole bottle of the vinegar back to London, I opted to buy sachets instead. These were conveniently stored in a plastic drinking container.

 

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The rest was easy, as I used the earlier recipe, substituting the black vinegar for balsamic vinegar.  If you trust Google, 1 tablespoon equals 17.7581714 millilitres. Each sachet contains 15ml so I just used this amount.

Serve the ice cream with fresh summer berries, or with strawberries dipped in chocolate.

 

For the Ice Cream:

450g fresh strawberries

150g caster sugar

1 tablespoon or 1 sachet Korean flavoured black vinegar (berries)

150 ml whipping cream (36% fat content)

 

How to Make:

Wash and hull the strawberries. Dry them thoroughly with kitchen paper then put them in a food processor or blender with the sugar. Set the machine in motion and add the balsamic vinegar through the lid or funnel.

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Continue to blend until the ingredients have combined to a smooth puree, then pour this into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. The sugar and vinegar will bring out the flavour of the fruit.

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When ready, combine the strawberry puree and cream and either still-freeze (see below) or start the ice-cream machine, following the manufacturer’s instructions.

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Leave to churn until the ice cream has the consistency of softly whipped cream.

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Quickly scrape into plastic freezer boxes and cover with waxed or greaseproof paper and a lid.

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Finally label, then freeze. Freeze for 1 hour or until just firm enough to serve. If stored longer and frozen solid, allow about 20 minutes in the fridge to soften sufficiently to serve.

Please refer to the previous strawberry ice cream recipe for instructions on still-freezing.

 

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* I have since read up on the subject and it appears that Koreans have been consuming black vinegar drinks for some time, and attributing all sorts of health-giving properties to it. Here are some articles for background information:

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20110624000815

http://blog.korea.net/?p=16032