Strawberry Gelato

Oh my goodness. This is definitely my favorite thing I've made in a LONG time. I came across this recipe about a couple of months ago and bookmarked it because it looked good. Strawberry gelato- How could it not be good?! I made this the other night when I was on my strawberry recipe kick. I used an ice cream maker, but I would venture to say that you could make it without one-just use a food processor for all the ingredients and freeze in the freezer.

I was a little leery of using buttermilk because I wondered how it would make the flavor, but this gelato is nothing but yummy and sweet and you would never know you are using buttermilk. And apparently you are supposed to use low-fat buttermilk but I forgot to note that and bought whole milk buttermilk at the store. It was wonderful. It has a great flavor but is almost like a mix between ice cream and sorbet-has a slightly creamy texture but is not heavy or too creamy. By using the buttermilk, even if you use whole buttermilk, it's a lot less fattening than regular ice cream, which is a bonus for sure. I absolutely LOVE this stuff and am so glad I bought a bigger carton of buttermilk than I needed, because I am going to be buying more strawberries and making this stuff to keep for after the baby comes. My ice cream maker didn't get it quite frozen enough-maybe because the recipe filled up the whole container; I'm not sure. But, the directions on my ice cream maker always say to continue freezing it in the freezer if it's not done after the time is up, so this might have been normal and the other times I've used my ice cream maker, I've had to do the same thing. It froze well and all I do is sit it out for a little while before I serve it so that it will be easy to scoop. This is a wonderfully refreshing treat for a spring or summer day!

Strawberry Gelato

from Cooking Light on My recipes.com

Original recipe here

• I N G R E D I E N T S :
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 5 cups quartered strawberries (about 4 pints or 2 16-ounce cartons)
• 2 cups low-fat buttermilk (I used whole milk buttermilk)
• 
  

D I R E C T I O N S

• Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour into a large bowl; cool completely.
• Place strawberries in a blender, and process until smooth. Add strawberry purée and buttermilk to sugar syrup; stir to combine.
• Pour the strawberry mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.