fritz gelato, prahran market

After our martial arts training on the weekends, a group of us often end up hanging out in the courtyard of Prahran Market. In summer, for me, that means getting the delightful award-winning frozen concoctions from Fritz Gelato. This invariably garners envious attention from my compatriots, usually with a few succumbing and trotting off to get their own.

The gelati here are made with fresh, organic ingredients, and shies away from artificial flavours and colours. As such, the flavours available can vary according to the season. Festive ones also pop up occasionally. At the moment, as we edge towards Christmas, I received their newsletter informing me of a Plum Pudding ice cream. I'm not even a big fan of plum pudding, but the next time I went to get my gelati fix, my curiosity got the better of me and I opted for a scoop of that, along with a scoop of an oldie but goodie, Very Vanilla.

If you like plum pudding, you'll probably like Fritz Gelato's version, as it does taste rather like the real thing with spice, rum, candied fruits, and even a subtle touch of doughiness. The vanilla is a solid choice, one that I've had before, and I like it because it's, well, very vanilla, and in a good way.

alliteration alert: Plum Pudding and Very Vanilla

As much as I appreciate Fritz Gelato's rich and creamy gelati, I'd probably say I like their refreshing fruit gelati even better. I discovered their beautiful Blood Orange earlier this year and was instantly won over by its authentic flavour and silky-smooth texture. Then there's Forest Berry, a luscious new revelation for me. Intense with the natural sweet-tangy taste of berries, this, too, will be making its way to my rotation list. And that deep reddish-purple colour is just sensational.

Blood Orange and Forest Berry sitting in a tree...

There doesn't seem to be many write-ups on Fritz Gelato, but all the ones I've seen, upon a quick search, are greatly positive. Most recently, Mel from Hot or Not rated it as Hot.

Other notes: Fritz Gelato was founded by Andrea Fritz, a Swiss immigrant. The first Australian store opened in South Melbourne in the 1960s, followed by stores in Richmond and St Kilda, though I've only tried the stall at Prahran Market. Take-home tubs are available. They also do organic donuts, which I like very much as well.



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preserved mandarin sorbet

preserved mandarin sorbet

If you are familiar with Chinese sweets, you may know about preserved mandarin/tangerine peel. It's similar to what some call crack seed snacks. This sweet and salty preserved fruit candy is a childhood favourite of mine. For November's salt-themed International Incident Party hosted by Jeroxie, I decided to go with this preserved mandarin peel idea. I thought about just making the sweet itself, but midway through, changed my mind, skipped the drying process and made a sorbet instead!

The brand of preserved mandarin peel I grew up with is Jiabao, so I had a look at their list of ingredients first to check what I would need to reproduce a similar flavour. I then came up with the following recipe(s)...

mandarin peels in salt solution. this was before the addition of sugar and licorice root powder.

Note: If mandarins aren't in season, oranges should be a serviceable substitute.

preserved mandarin peel

- thin pieces of peel from one big mandarin/tangerine
- 1/2 tablespoon coarse salt (I used coarse sea salt with no additives)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 to 4 tablespoons mandarin juice
- 1 teaspoon licorice root powder

Pack mandarin peel in a small jar. (take care to use jars that won't corrode with acid and salt. I used a glass jar with a plastic lid.)

Add salt to the peels, then mandarin juice. The peels should be all submerged in the liquid. Shake to dissolve some of the salt.

Leave in a cool dark place at room temperature and shake the jar a couple times a day (or more often if you like!).

After a few days, retrieve peel from jar, still leaving the salt solution in the jar.

Bring to boil then simmer the peel in 1/2 cup water, 1 teaspoon licorice root powder and 1 tablespoon sugar until the liquid is reduced to approximately a quarter, i.e. 1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons of thick syrup.

Add the peel and licorice sugar syrup back to the jar with the salt solution. I let it cool before putting the lid back on and then stored it for several more days in the fridge, letting the flavours seep in.

So that's my very small portion of preserved mandarin peel. You can probably even use the syrup like a cordial and make iced drinks with it. Or, continue on like I did, and make the sorbet!

this refreshing mandarin sorbet will even replenish your electrolytes!

salted mandarin sorbet with preserved mandarin peel

1 + 1/2 cups mandarin juice
1/4 cup caster sugar
the salty-sweet peels and syrup from the recipe above
1 tablespoon triple sec (optional)

In a saucepan combine 1/2 cup mandarin juice and all the sugar and simmer, stirring until all dissolved, and remove from heat. Add to the rest of the mandarin juice.

Blend/process/chop the salty-sweet peels until they are tiny pieces. Add into the sugary mandarin juice.
Add 1 tablespoon triple sec as well, if using.

Slowly add in the salty-sweet preserving syrup, stirring, until the balance of sweet and salty flavours are to your liking - you can use just some of it, or you can use it all.

Freeze the concoction in an ice cream maker, if you have one. I didn't, so went the old-fashion route by beating the mixture up every few hours. I'm yet to perfect the art of making a smooth sorbet without an ice cream maker, as you can see from the pictures. However, I'm still patting myself on the back for this creation. The sorbet does have that preserved mandarin peel flavour to it and it was sweet, salty and refreshing. Mission accomplished!

salted mandarin sorbet with preserved mandarin peel

my fellow salt partiers!


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soy milk + blackstrap molasses: a healthy two-ingredient sorbet

This weekend, I thought I'd celebrate minimalism with a simple sorbet. I remember a friend offered me a few things from her pantry last year when she was moving house, and one of the things I took was a jar of organic blackstrap molasses. Ever since then, I have enjoyed blackstrap molasses with soy milk - this is not only delicious but also apparently advocated as a great natural health remedy. I had a feeling the concoction would be just as awesome in a frozen form, so here we are!

a healthy organic vegan sorbet of soy milk & blackstrap molasses

Ingredients (serves 2):
400ml organic soy milk
approx.1 tablespoon organic blackstrap molasses (adjust according to taste)

The first step is easy. Mix the blackstrap molasses into the soy milk until thoroughly dissolved. As blackstrap molasses are highly viscous, you might want to ease the process by dissolving the blackstrap molasses in just a little hot water (not too much) before adding it into the soy milk. Also, if you are not familiar with blackstrap molasses, add a little at a time until the taste is to your liking.

Then, pour it into an ice cream maker if you have one. As I don't have one, I did it the old-fashioned way by pouring it into a container, and then breaking up and blending the ice crystals every hour or so with the help of a spoon.

The sorbet was just as scrumptious as I thought it would be - the blackstrap molasses imparted a rich, distinctive taste, balanced by the gentleness of the soy milk. It did turn out a little icy - I would probably describe it as the love child of a sorbet and a granita - but I think that can be improved with more practice and experimentation, and I definitely recommend experimenting with the wonderful combination that is soy milk and blackstrap molasses!

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