Make our tangy frozen dessert with fresh local strawberries.
Of all the sweeties of my childhood, it's the fizzy ones that summon the most nostalgia. I remember buying double-ended tongue shaped fizzy gums from a small paper shop on Crouch Street in Colchester between college lectures.
And Dib-Dabs – the paper ripping precariously as I furiously shoved the lolly into every single crevice, lapping up each miniscule grain of sherbet.
As a grown-up (allegedly) I still have the odd craving for these sweeties, but ultimately my tastes have changed, and when I think of sherbet today, it's the American frozen treat that comes to mind.
Unlike a sorbet (which is totally dairy-free) sherbet is a refreshingly fruity ice concocted with milk, cream or buttermilk, which react with crushed fruit to leave a pleasant tingly fizz on the tongue as you eat it. It's basically icy candy for adults.
Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and rhubarb will all give you delightful results. As we're coming into prime strawberry season I've used berries from Lindsey Lodge here, paired with Marybelle's semi-skimmed milk and crème fraiche – all from my local East of England Co-op.
Leave it to soften from the freezer for 10 minutes before eating, so all the ripe berry flavours can shine through.
Strawberry sherbet
(serves 4-6)
Ingredients
175g caster sugar
150ml water
350g strawberries (weight after hulling) pureed and sieved
250ml local semi-skimmed milk
250ml local crème fraiche
Juice ½ lemon
Method
Simmer the sugar in the water over a gentle heat to dissolve. Bring to the boil for three minutes then leave to cool. Add the pureed strawberries to the cooled syrup and chill in the fridge for one hour.
Add the milk, crème fraiche and lemon juice then churn in an ice cream machine until smooth. Alternatively place in a tub (in which the mixture sits snugly) and freeze, whisking with a fork to break up any ice crystals every hour for three hours.
If you like, crush 100g strawberries with 2tbsps caster sugar and stir this into the mix at the end of churning for extra deliciousness.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here