Strawberry sorbet with balsamic vinegar cinnamon and black pepper

The strawberries arrive hot on the heels of cherries in this part of france. We have been picking wild strawberries in the hedgerow for some weeks. I bought a 3 kilo tray of Mara de Bois strawberries in Maurs market  last Thursday.

Pomona Fruits describes Mara de Bois like this:-

This very special perpetual fruiting strawberry is the only variety to combine the aromatic flavour of the wild alpine strawberry with the fruit size and yield of the modern cultivars.  When fully ripe, the medium sized berries are extremely fragrant and develop an intense flavour and aroma similar to the woodland strawberry. Highly sought after by top chefs, if you travel to France and visit the local markets you will see fruits of this wonderful variety on sale when in season.

They are the tastiest strawberry there are and they are quite early. I wanted to make some jam and also try out strawberry sorbet and strawberry ice cream. I bought the cream in the market too.  Huge great dollops of thick yellow local cream, that very quickly gets a tang to it, so you have to get it home to a fridge quickly, but it is amazing.

I sorted through the 3 kilos of strawberries and turned most of them into jam but I kept about 500 gms for sorbet try outs. Strawberry season goes on for quite a while and so I have time to find the perfect combination. I blended half the strawberries with sugar and cream and put them straight into the ice cream maker  where they quickly churned into a delicious smooth icecream.

Personally I thought the flavour got a bit lost in the cream but it all tasted nice and the grand children were much more impressed with this combination than with my tasty sorbets.. 


The other 250 gms I simmered, for a very short time, with sugar, red wine, cinnamon, black pepper and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Once in the ice cream maker it also started to freeze really quickly and this time there was no mistaking  the full flavour of strawberries. It was mouth wateringly intense and delicious.

All food for thought and I find it interesting that the unadulterated strawberries and cream was less convincing and less fresh tasting than the cooked and seasoned strawberries.