What can you do to turn a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt into a sophisticated dessert?

Drizzle it with balsamic glaze and add some strawberries. And if you prefer, use strawberry ice cream or yogurt.

Plain strawberries with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or a balsamic glaze is a classic Italian dessert. We’re not sure whether Italians or Americans added ice cream to the recipe, but it’s a winning combination.

WHAT IS BALSAMIC GLAZE?

Balsamic glaze is balsamic vinegar that has been reduced into a syrup equivalent to 25% of the original volume. The difference from just drizzling vinegar from the bottle is a thicker sauce, but you can certainly skip the reduction and use balsamic from the bottle.

 
You can make balsamic glaze or buy it; in addition to a plain glaze, you can find it in blood orange, fig, pomegranate and strawberry. You can also make or buy a white balsamic glaze.

The simple addition of a balsamic glaze adds wonderful flavor to simple dishes, both sweet and savory (berries, grilled chicken, fish and other proteins; crudites, steamed vegetables, whipped cream and so on).

MAKE YOUR OWN BALSAMIC GLAZE

You can make a batch and keep it in the fridge, on call whenever you need some culinary magic. The refreshing sweet-and-tangy taste perks up just about anything (if it’s too tangy for you, add some sugar to your reduction).

Two cups of vinegar reduces to a half cup of glaze.

Ingredients

3. Remove from heat; allow to cool. Store in the fridge, in a jar with a tight lid, for up to a month.

Find more of our favorite ice cream recipes.