Strawberry milk
Strawberries were on sale at the market, so now I have 3 large boxes in the fridge. One idea I had to use them was to make strawberry milk. My plan was simply to throw some chopped strawberries into a blender with some whole mild. But after a quick search on the internet, most recipes recommend cooking the strawberries down with sugar to make a syrup, then straining it. What's the benefit of that? Aside from removing all the seeds to make a smoother glass of strawberry milk (which I don't mind), I don't see why tossing everything into a blender isn't the better option. Am I missing something else that would make the cooking-to-syrup method a better one?
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9 Comments
I love fresh strawberry milkshakes. I, however, have never made strawberry milk, but have used them often back in my smoothie days. Just be sure to rinse them well right before you use them.
This also results in an ingredient of consistent quality that can be stored a long time (frozen I assume) and takes up less space than fresh berries.
Strawberry milk made from cooked strawberries will also most closely resemble the typical stuff that's available in your average supermarket's dairy case.
Again, there are a number of factors that might lead you to pick one method or the other, but this is entirely your choice. In the end, you're the one who is going to put it on your table and drink it.
Raw strawberries are mostly water. The cooking process evaporates some of this liquid. This isn't just specific to strawberries, it pertains to most raw fruits and vegetables.
Throwing raw berries into the milk is arguably healthier since all of the nutrients are retained, plus there's very little effort involved.
It's really your call how to proceed based on the taste difference, how much effort you want to put into it, and whether or not you care about the nutritional benefits of raw fruit.
Good luck.