Oh, wouldn't it be great to have a gelato tree in the garden? We think so, and these days it almost feels like we do, because we're making a new batch of strawberry gelato almost weekly – with strawberries from the strawberry-gelato patch out in the garden, of course!
In the summers past, after the first large strawberry harvest in late spring, when the strawberries conveniently ripen all at once, and jam and fruit salads can be made, I was never quite sure what to do with the few remaining strawberries that ripen, two and four at a time, the rest of the summer. Because a few strawberries like this aren't much use in feeding a family of five. In the past, those strawberries have been eaten right in the garden by three strawberry-loving kids, which wasn't so bad. But to this gardner, it never seemed a very efficient way to use produce.
So this year the gardner came up with a different idea. She banned fresh strawberry snacking (don't worry, there are many other fruits to be snacked on out there!), and started collecting, saving and freezing those occasional strawberries and was surprised to see how quickly they accumulated into enough for a weekly batch of gelato (see my post on homemade gelato).
Fire-red, sweet and cool, it's the perfect way to end a hot summer day.
