Balsamic Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream

Strawberries and melons are my favorite summer fruits.  I rarely buy melons because I can never finish a whole melon before it goes bad. We even struggle to eat strawberries quickly enough! I frequently panic once I notice that one or two of the strawberries in a carton is moldy. Often, I'll make the remaining berries into a galette, but if I'm not in the mood to make crust, I sit on the internet looking for strawberry recipes feeling defeated. Once, I made a strawberry compote from two pounds of strawberries that were going bad. Aat the grocery store, I suggested that 2 pounds was probably too much, but I was told "don't worry. I'll eat them." That's a phrase I will never believe! So, then we ended up with a giant bowl of strawberry compote that was on the brink of going bad and the only way I could think of to use it was on waffles! The rest of it was frozen. It's probably still in the freezer somewhere..

The next time we had molding strawberries, I gave up.  I washed the strawberries, sliced them and froze them. Unlike the bag of whole frozen strawberries we have lurking in the bottom of our freezer, sliced strawberries can go into the blender and come out smooth, so I made a lot of smoothies. Smoothies are great, but ice cream is so much better.

I've had my eye on a recipe for roasted strawberry ice cream for the past few years.  Whenever I had strawberries, I forgot to roast them.  The same thing happened with bananas. I kept planning to make banana bread with roasted bananas, but every time I made banana bread, I forgot! When I finally bought bananas with the intention of roasting them, I made the banana bread and was disappointed with the results. I didn't think that roasting the bananas made a difference. Fortunately, I wasn't disappointed with my roasted strawberry ice cream!

Objective
To make strawberry ice cream with roasted strawberries. The recipe is a combination of both Zoe Bakes' Strawberry Ice Cream and Homesick Texan's Strawberry and Guajillo Chile Ice Cream.

Materials
For the roasted strawberries:
12 oz. fresh, ripe strawberries, washed with tops cut off
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

For the ice cream:
3 cups half-and-half
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
juice of 1/2 lime

Methods
1. In a small bowl, toss the strawberries, 2 tbsp. sugar and balsamic vinegar. Set aside for an hour to macerate (or leave in the fridge while you go to work, run errands, whatever). Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Roast the strawberry mixture on a foil lined baking sheet until you can easily mash the strawberries with the back of a fork. Remove from the oven and thoroughly mash the strawberries.
2. In a large bowl (batter bowl if you have one), stir the mashed strawberries, half-and-half, corn syrup, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and lime juice. Leave in the fridge to chill completely (4-6 hours, or even better, overnight).
3. Once the base is cold, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Move to a pre-chilled bowl with a lid and freeze until firm (2-3 hours). Eat within a few days for the best texture.

Results
Creamy, strawberry goodness! Excellent flavor, though its pink color edges toward brown.

Discussion and Future Directions
This is a lovely, light in feel strawberry ice cream. This one wont leave your mouth coated with fat. Excellent to eat in a bowl and also excellent blended with a little milk to make a quick and easy strawberry milkshake! Be sure to eat it quickly, because it will freeze fairly solid in the freezer since it's not as high in fat as a traditional ice cream. If you leave it in the freezer for awhile, just know that it will take awhile to soften up before you can eat it.

This ice cream would be the perfect end to a dinner party with friends or a Memorial Day barbecue. It's sweet, fruity and creamy, but light. It's sure to be a crowd-pleaser!