Mixed Berry Buttermilk Gelato

Oh Nancy...how I appreciate you. You're a good person. A person who introduces me to recipes that make me happy and a little of a soul mate. I saw this on your blog and I could not resist. But when I measured out my strawberries, I sadly realized there weren't enough, so in went the raspberries and blackberries that were in the fridge. Check out Nancy's gorgeous picture and original post right here.

This is a WONDERFULLY easy and refreshing recipe. MUST, MUST try! You can't taste the buttermilk at all! My husband seemed skeptical at first, but then he said it was 'very good!' It's more like a 'sorbet' than gelato to me, but maybe if I had used a full-fat buttermilk, it may have tasted more like the Italian gelatos I'm familiar with.... Either way, this one is for the books.

One thing to note...the full amount of this recipe did NOT fit my ice-cream maker. I didn't remember reading this on Nancy's blog until I poured it in and then desperately grabbed a straw to suck up the overidge. Boy, am I glad I'm not on a reality tv show because that was, Not. Pretty. I wonder if scaling all ingredients back by 25% would make it fit...? (No, I haven't figured out those proportions yet because I'm too busy eating.) But if you have this kind of ice-cream maker (like mine), then this recipe may overflow your machine as well.

Try serving it in a waffle cone and alternate with vanilla ice-cream. The two flavors are amazing together!

MIXED BERRY BUTTERMILK GELATO

Yield: 8 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup)

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar (next time I may use 1 3/4 cups)
• 2 cups buttermilk (I used low fat, but I think full-fat may be better in this recipe)
• A tiny pinch of salt (optional--but think recipe needed it)
• 5 cups mixed berries of your choice or single berries of your choice (I did strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries--but all strawberry is original version)*

Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan (and salt, if using); bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour into a large bowl; cool completely.

Place strawberries in a blender and process until smooth. (If seeds bother you, this is the time to strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve or strainer.) Add the berry purée and buttermilk to sugar syrup; stir to combine.

Pour the berry mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Transfer ice-cream to a separate, covered container. Place in freezer and continue to freeze for a couple hours longer before serving.

*If you use just strawberries, this will amount to 4 pints or 2 (16 oz) containers

NOTE: You may have to leave it out a few minutes (like 5-10 minutes depending on how cold your freezer is), because it doesn't harden in the freezer quite a bit.