The last of the farmers’ market strawberries have come and gone for the season. Each year, as with asparagus, there is the fervor among the food set, especially those who try to eat as seasonally as possible, to hunt out and obtain, for as many weeks as is feasible, locally grown, tangy-sweet, juicy strawberries.
I become obsessed this time of year, waiting, scoping out the markets, eager to catch the new crop and to buy up as many as I can before they are gone. Fresh, seasonal strawberries make my mouth water, as I take that first sweet tart bite. I cannot be tempted by the ones “as large as my head” (to quote one of my sisters) that one finds in the grocery stores during the rest of the year.
It has been many years since I was able to enjoy the Italian springtime fragole or fragolone (as the larger ones are called). The ones from the Greenmarket in New York bring back cherished memories of those warm days and even warmer friendships. I developed this recipe to capture the English fondness for strawberries with cream along with a particularly Northern Italian use of balsamic vinegar. It is, of course, best when the berries are in peak season.
1 pint Strawberries, whole or, if serving plated, sliced
1 tsp Sugar, white granulated or fine cane sugar
1 cup Heavy Cream (or English double cream)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
Assembly:
Delicately rinse off strawberries and pat dry with paper towel. Green tops can be removed, depending upon how they are to be served, or left to allow dipping.
Chill metal bowl in freezer for 10-15 minutes. Pour in heavy cream. By hand or with machine, whip cream into soft peaks. Add sugar, vanilla extract, and balsamic vinegar. Fold together gently. The cream will be a taupe-y sort of color. Serve berries with cream.
Buon appetito!
Kitchen Witch Tip
Usually, I swear off one-use gadgets, but this Strawberry Huller, which someone gifted to me, is a staple in my house during the summer berry season. It snags onto and lifts off that green stem cleanly, leaving the rest of the berry intact, much better that using a kitchen knife to try to accomplish the same chore.
**Affiliate Disclosure**
I've included a link to this Strawberry Huller available on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links that are included in this post. These earnings enable me to continue to maintain this website.
2 comments:
I am a longtime lover of strawberries. Santa Cruz is a big strawberry producer and I remember well my mom picking up flats of the berries fresh from the local fields when I was a kid. I was also lucky enough to have my birthday happen in the middle of strawberry season so every year we had fresh strawberries on my cake - they were also in my wedding cake! Now I'm lucky enough to have my own berries growing in our backyard in SF, the cute little bushes are bursting with fruit, it's hard to be patient but soon they will be ready.
Have you tried strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar? Dip a fresh berry into a little sour cream and then into brown sugar and then bite into a little heaven. I'm thinking it hits the same sweet and tangy notes as your sweat cream and vinegar which I am going to have to try.
happy eating, jules
Jules - Oh, now that the season is at an end here, I'm so jealous that you have them in your backyard. I think you are right, that tangy-sweet balance that both recipes provide is a refreshing counterpoint for this hot summer weather!
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