Strawberries and wood sorrel Credit: Hannah Palmer Egan

In parts of New England, “frappes” and “milkshakes” are more or less synonymous. At Brigham’s, the Boston-based ice cream chain that closed its last parlors in 2013 after 99 years in business, a frappe was a milkshake, plain and simple. But in many homes, it’s a blended, milk-based froth — usually thinner than a milkshake — with some combination of ice, ice cream, fruit or coffee. To me, it’s thin enough to sip and has a head of big bubbles.

How does this relate to strawberries? Well. At the South Burlington farmers market last weekend, I snapped up a couple pints of strawberries from Lewis Creek Farm. Rather than eat them fresh (and immediately) as I usually would, I stuck them in the fridge, pending ambitions of custards and tarts, scones and muffins. Days passed and the strawberries withered from their former glory. Then, this morning — when I woke up to rain for what felt like the 678th day, I recalled the frappe. 

I jazzed it up a bit: Because it was breakfast, I threw in an egg white (this also helps with the froth). I also added a bit of wild sorrel from my back yard, which adds a tangy, lemony flavor, and a scoop of ice cream because why not. The only problem? I didn’t have a straw.

This frappe is an epic milk mustache waiting to happen. Credit: Hannah Palmer Egan

Strawberry-Sorrel Frappe
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup sorrel leaves, washed
  • 1 handful strawberries, washed, crowned and halved
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 scoop ice cream

Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a blender and BLEND, BABY, BLEND.

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Hannah Palmer Egan was a Seven Days food writer from 2014-2019. She was a 2017 James Beard Journalism Award finalist for her coverage of Vermont's food and agriculture industries, and received food writing awards from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia....