Spiced Strawberry Sorbet

To expand upon Mama Flava's Strawberry theme from last month, here is a wonderful sorbet recipe I adapted slightly from one I found on epicurious.com. This recipe adds a kick to ordinary strawberry sorbet for older kids, but can easily be made "straight" for toddlers. When I used this for my demos kids loved it just as much as the adults. The black peppercorns and balsamic vinegar add a wonderful depth of flavor and change the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Spiced Strawberry Sorbet

Serves 6-8
Prep time: 20 minutes plus chill time for ingredients and ice cream maker
Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
2/3-cup sugar (or agave nectar)
2/3-cup water
2 Tablespoons black peppercorns crushed coarse
1-quart strawberries hulled
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar or to taste

Preparation:
In a saucepan combine sugar and water and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peppercorns and remove pan from heat. Cover pan and let syrup stand 1 hour.

Strain syrup through a fine sieve into a food processor or blender and discard peppercorns. Purée hulled strawberries with syrup until very smooth and force though sieve into a bowl, discarding seeds and other solids. This makes a very smooth sorbet...if you like it a bit chunkier do not strain. Stir in vinegar and chill, covered, until cold. Freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker.

You may use this basic recipe for most fruit sorbets leaving out the peppercorns and balsamic vinegar.

So for a nice cool fruity dessert try the strawberry ice cream, or if you want to leave out the fat/milk and cream...try the spiced sorbet. It's lovely on the tongue!!!

- Grammie Flava -