No, that isn’t the wrong picture to go with that headline. That’s balsamic vinegar on ice cream. Oh sure, it’s got berries and sugar in it, too, but yeah … vinegar.
There are some really expensive balsamic vinegars — I’m talking about $200 for less than 3½ ounces. They’re thick and sweet, and are supposed to be great on fresh fruit. (No, I haven’t tried any $60/ounce vinegar.)
If you want to try something similar, you can start with a decent balsamic — like the Holland House Balsamic Vinegar that Mizkan sent me — and reduce it with some sugar until it’s thick and syrupy. Here’s how.
Ingredients
1 cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup sugar
2 cups mixed berries
Directions
Let the girls put the berries in a small pot. (That’s Winnie doing the frozen mixed berries, and Ana with the fresh blackberries). And let your wife add the vinegar, and do the sugar yourself.
Or, you know, just add everything yourself. Don’t turn it into a family fun-time activity. See if I care.
Give it a good stir and bring to a boil.
Keep it above a simmer, but not quite a full boil, stirring occasionally. You can leave it at a full boil, but you’ll have to keep stirring constantly to keep it from burning.
Reduce until it’s thick enough to stick to the back of a spoon.
Pour over vanilla ice cream.
And that’s it.
Oh … by the way … you might not want to tell your kids there’s vinegar in it before they’ve tried it. And you might want to keep them out of the kitchen while it’s cooking. Hot vinegar has a really pungent aroma.
[Standard disclaimer applies. Mizkan has provided me with compensation and product for this post.]
Want more like this? For more recipes like this, that you can hold right in your hands, and write on, take notes, tear pages out if you want (Gosh, you're tough on books, aren't you?) you might be interested in How To Cook Like Your Grandmother, 2nd edition, Illustrated. Or to learn your way around the kitchen, check out Starting From Scratch: The Owner's Manual for Your Kitchen.
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4 Comments
What do you consider “decent balsamic” I have never really enjoyed balsamic vinegar…and I think it may be because I am not buying a good kind…LoL
Ashley, this was Holland House. I usually buy something imported at the Italian market I go to.
But you know what? Once you’re an adult and you’re feeding yourself, you don’t have to eat something just because other people like it. I’ve tried olives lots of times. Finally decided I just don’t like them. There are plenty of other things to eat without wasting time developing a tolerance for something.
So true Drew!! But my husband really likes balsamic vinegar so I am trying to incorporate it more into our meals…Thanks for the input I will try it out!
Hello,
I made that last week-end, it was superb. In France, our frozen red fruit packages have a lot of blackcurrents, which gave it a very hearthy flavor. I’ll try once with just cherries.
Cheers,
JD