Cherry Ice Blocks
Cherries are one of my favourite summer fruits, they always remind me of the holidays. I love fermented cherries, they make such a delicious snack. But they also taste beautiful in smoothies, smoothie bowls, jellies, nice-cream, in my Cultured Cherry & Vanilla Cheesecake and blended through coconut yoghurt.
Did you know that cherries are a well known “brain food” and can help to strengthen cognitive function by helping to improve memory, focus, and concentration and help to reduce brain fog. They’re also an excellent source of melatonin which is known to calm the nervous system, decrease irritability, ease headaches and promote a solid nights sleep with a balanced sleep-wake cycle.
How-to Ferment Cherries (this will remove the sugar)
Simply add the cherries to a clean glass jar and cover them with coconut water kefir. Close the lid tightly and allow them to ferment for 24 hours. When they’re ready you can start making the jelly.
Makes 6 Ice Blocks
Ingredients
300g chopped and frozen fermented bananas (or use fermented fermented mangoes instead if you prefer a sorbet - or a mix of both fermented mangoes and bananas works beautifully too)
300g fermented and frozen cherries
2 tsp vanilla
Stevia or your preferred sweetener to taste
Method
Add the fermented, frozen and chopped fruits and vanilla to your food processor, blender or thermomix. Blend the ingredients until combined evenly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and re-blend.
Taste the mixture and add your sweetener to taste if needed and re-blend.
Serve the nice cream straight away. Or allow it to melt a bit before pouring it into ice-cream moulds. Place in the freezer to set.
Once ready, run the moulds under warm water to allow them to slide off easily. Enjoy the ice blocks immediately.
These ice-blocks have a beautiful and refreshing sorbet texture. If you love sorbets, then you also need to try my Probiotic Mango Sorbet and Probiotic Mango Sorbet Ice Blocks, they’re both perfect for these hot summary days.