Strawberry Ice

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Food processor or blender
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Ice-cream machine with at least 1-quart capacity
• •Small metal saucer for the freezer test
• •Shallow 1-quart lidded freezer container

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the cold equipment

   Freeze the removable bowl of your ice-cream machine for the full time its maker requires, commonly at least 24 hours; that equipment preparation sits outside the recipe's total time. Put a small metal saucer and a shallow 1-quart storage container in the freezer. Rinse the strawberries quickly while they are still hulled, dry them thoroughly, then hull and weigh them. Clinging water changes the balance before you've begun.

   Weigh the berries after hulling. The source's two-parts-fruit-to-one-part-sugar proportion concerns the fruit that actually reaches the sieve, not discarded green tops.
2. 2

   Pound berries and sugar

   Put the strawberries and superfine sugar in a food processor. Pulse until the berries are thoroughly crushed and flowing but not whipped full of air, scraping the bowl once or twice. Let the mixture stand for 15 minutes, then pulse again briefly so the sugar dissolves into the juice. This replaces pounding in a mortar; the machine is new, but breaking the raw fruit directly with sugar is the source method and must stay.

3. 3

   Add citrus and sieve

   Stir in the strained orange and lemon juices. Rub the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve with the back of a ladle or flexible spatula, pressing until only a dry paste of seeds and coarse fiber remains. Don't merely drain it. The rubbing passes the fruit flesh through the mesh and gives the glace its smooth body without cooking away its perfume.

4. 4

   Balance the mixture

   Stir in the first ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) of filtered water. If you own a refractometer, aim for about 30° to 33° Brix, the practical current reading corresponding roughly to the source's 16° to 18° Baumé. Without one, spread a tablespoon of mixture on the frozen metal saucer and freeze it for 15 minutes. The edges should set while the center scrapes into soft, fine crystals. If it remains loose and syrupy, add water 1 tablespoon at a time and repeat the test. If you add too much and the sample freezes hard and coarse, don't cook it down and lose the raw aroma. Ça se rattrape: blend a little more strawberry and superfine sugar at the same two-to-one ratio by weight, stir it in gradually, and retest.

   The unfrozen mixture should taste a shade sweeter and sharper than you want at the table. Cold softens both impressions.
5. 5

   Chill the base

   Cover the mixture and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, until thoroughly cold. Stir gently before churning. A cold base freezes quickly into small crystals; a warm one lingers in the machine and turns coarse.

6. 6

   Churn to soft set

   Start the ice-cream machine, then pour in the cold base. Churn until the glace mounds against the paddle and holds clean grooves, usually 20 to 25 minutes. It will still be soft enough to spoon. If it remains pourable after 30 minutes, stop rather than churning endlessly: the base or freezer bowl is too warm. Chill the base again, refreeze the bowl completely, and churn once more.

7. 7

   Harden and serve

   Pack the glace into the frozen container, level the surface, cover tightly, and freeze for about 2 hours. Let it stand at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping, or 10 to 15 minutes if it has hardened overnight. Serve in chilled coupes while the color is vivid and the scoops are just beginning to soften at their edges. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose strawberries by smell. They should perfume the room before you cut them; size and perfect shape matter far less. Out of season, use unsweetened frozen berries picked ripe, thaw them completely, and keep every drop of their juice. That is better than a pale fresh berry with no scent.
• •The source's powdered sugar means finely pulverized, starch-free sugar. Superfine sugar is the honest equivalent. If you only have granulated sugar, process it briefly until fine; confectioners' sugar containing cornstarch gives the glace a faintly chalky finish.
• •The orange should support the strawberry, not announce itself. Measure the juice after squeezing, because a very large orange can overwhelm the source's balance.
• •Without an ice-cream machine, pour the cold base into a shallow metal tray and freeze it, scraping and beating thoroughly with a fork every 30 minutes until evenly frozen. The texture will be coarser, but the raw-fruit character remains true.
• •For an outdoor meal, serve small portions straight from a well-chilled container. Fruit ice softens quickly in summer air, which is charming at the table and troublesome in transit.

Advance Preparation

• •The puréed and sieved base can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Stir it gently before churning.
• •Churn the glace at least 2 hours before serving. For the softest texture and brightest strawberry perfume, serve it within 3 days.
• •For a picnic, hard-freeze the covered container overnight, then carry it directly from the freezer in a small insulated carrier packed closely with frozen blocks. Keep it shaded and open the carrier only when you are ready to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 115g)