Monday, June 29, 2009

Strawberry Sauce

I bought a half-flat of strawberries a few days ago. They were beautiful--deep red and perfectly ripe. And then I started eating them. Such a disappointment! I'd say that three of every four were either bland or downright sour. But the sweet ones were little punches of happiness. Still, it wasn't worth plowing through the sour berries for the occasional sweet one.

The solution? Strawberry sauce! Cooking the strawberries and adding a little sugar turns even bland and/or sour berries into something wonderful. The recipe measurements are very forgiving--it's really one of those "a bit of this" and "a pinch of that" compositions. But here's what I did:

3 cups strawberries, trimmed and halved (or quartered, if you prefer)
2 tablespoons sugar or agave syrup (I used sugar)
a splash of lemon juice
a pinch of salt (to enhance the sweetness)

Put all ingredients in a sauce pan over low heat. Cook until the strawberries start to fall apart and everything is a big, bubbling mess. Taste for sweetness. If needed, continue simmering until the sauce is reduced to your preferred thickness.

Done! You can refrigerate it and serve over ice cream. Pour it over shortcake or a big slice of vegan cheesecake. Or, following my example, you can eat it straight out of the sauce pan with a giant spoon.

10 comments:

  1. Great to see you posting. :-)

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  2. Mmmm sounds great! I was thinking about making some of this for my ice cream soon. Or waffles. Mmmm!

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  3. That's a great idea! Strawberry season is just getting started here, and I always get excited and over-buy. Sounds great for vanilla ice cream!

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  4. Anonymous1:03 PM

    Have you heard of the book Vice Cream?? Mmmm!!! Check it out!

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  5. Ohh, that's bad,strawberry plants here in our country was destroyed because of typhoon. It will take long time before I can do this recipe.

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  6. so, are we constantly stirring? im having this problem in a few recipes...

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  7. Nikki--you'll need to stir enough to keep the berries on the bottom of the pan from sticking/burning. but it's not necessary to constantly stir. just keep an eye on the pan and give it a stir every little while.

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  8. this works even better with blueberries! =)

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  9. Anonymous8:34 PM

    When you cook the strawberries do they keep their red color?

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  10. I like strawberries that have a slight sour taste. It really adds to the flavor.

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