Izzy's - Italian Strawberry

Italian Strawberry - Ice Cream made from Strawberries marinated in Balsamic Vinegar

Today we try another flavor from the Saint Paul-based Izzy's Ice Cream.  This is the People's Flavor Award winner from 2002:  Italian Strawberry.  Note that the flavor seems missing from the Flavor Award menu, but is correctly listed a separate article about the Flavor Awards.  This flavor is made from strawberries marinated in balsamic vinegar.  I've seen this flavor combination once before -- at Morganstern's during my New York City ice cream crawl.  Balsamic vinegar is sometimes used to mute strong flavors like strawberries or figs.  I'm looking forward to checking this out.

Opening the pint, I see the pink flavor of the strawberry base with quite a few solids and strawberry seeds visible as well.  The aroma of balsamic vinegar is noticeable right away as well.  Digging in, I can taste both strong strawberry and vinegar right away.  The flavor seem to exist on separate planes -- they don't seem to blend or distract from other.  I think I notice the vinegar the most at the beginning and end of every spoonful.  The ice cream itself is very dense and creamy -- not a lot of air pumped into this -- and the strawberry is delicious.

This is an excellent blend of strawberry and vinegar.  I can see why this won a People's Flavor Award.  You have to be on board with the use of vinegar in ice cream -- if you're not perhaps just try a scoop first instead of a full pint. Otherwise, this is really good.