Strawberry Coulis

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Super easy strawberry coulis or strawberry sauce that’s perfect over pancakes, your favorite ice cream, brownie, or cheesecake. This sauce give any breakfast meal or dessert a burst of flavor. 

If you are very conversant with the culinary world and chefs, you may have heard the word, “Coulis”. 

Coulis refers to a puree of fruits and vegetables, like this red pepper coulis. However, when you use fruits, you may have to use sugars to sweeten the puree. 

Coulis could also be made from fruit jam and preserved that have been diluted and strained with liquor, water, or syrup. 

You can also use additional ingredients such as spices and seasoning to add more flavor, and acid such as lemon juice. However, these additional ingredients are kept simple and at the barest minimum, to prevent messing the dish up with numerous flavors and ingredients.

Strawberry coulis is one of the numerous types of coulis. Made from strawberry fruit, the coulis is delicious, nutritious, and perfect as a sauce for many food items. It can either be used as a dip, marinade, or dressing.

History of Strawberry Coulis

Coulis has not always been used to refer to purees. Instead, the word has evolved to mean different things at different points in time. 

The word originated from France, and the French vocabulary was couler, which means “to strain” or “to flow”. 

Its adjective form, coleis, means straining, pouring, or flowing. The word also has a similar Latin root to the word “Colander”.

Originally, coulis was used to refer to the juices from cooked meat. Then after some time, it evolved to being used to refer to thick sauce or soup make from pureed fish, meat, or game. 

But with time, these types of soup fell out of fashion, and as a result, the term coulis was then used to refer to shellfish soups that have been pureed.

In the New World, the word was modified to cullis and is used to refer to strained gravy and broth. 

Of all of these meanings and interpretations, only the “thick liquid” meaning has survived till today. Today, there are still debates in the culinary world as to the right usage of the term coulis and what it should refer to. 

While coulis could be made from vegetables (cooked) and fruits (uncooked), many people are still of the opinion that fruit coulis are simply fruit puree, and the use of the word “coulis” to describe them is an attempt at being fancy.

Of course, it does add a fancy feel to a menu decoration to see “Strawberry Coulis” rather than strawberry puree or strawberry sauce. 

Others also argue that a cooked coulis cannot be referred to as a coulis. At the end of the day, what matters most is the taste, intention of the chef, color, and consistency of the coulis.

On the other hand, there is a rich history regarding the origin and distribution of the strawberry fruit. 

The first garden strawberry cultivated was planted in Brittany, France at the turn of the 18th century. However, before this time, wild strawberries are growing around and these wild species were the source of the fruit. Before this time, there have been several mentions of the strawberry fruit in Roman literature. 

The fruit was described in line with its medicinal use, as the whole strawberry plant was said to be effective for treating depressive illnesses. There were also records that King Charles V of France had about1200 strawberry plants in his gardens between the years 1364 to 1380.   

The Uses of Strawberry Sauce (Coulis)

In the same way that the meaning of coulis has morphed over the years, the usage of the dish has also changed over the years. 

Coulis has been used as plate decoration, and also as a form of complementary flavor for both meat and vegetable dishes. They are also used to garnish a soup, sauce a dish, and also used as a soup base. Coulis made from fruits, especially berries, are ideal for dessert toppings. 

These sauces are usually strained using chinois strainers and as a result, are usually very smooth.

It was the domination of Nouvelle Cuisine in the 1980s that allowed the use of coulis in the culinary world reaches a staggering peak. By this time, chefs excessively used the coulis, especially the raspberry coulis, in different designs such as in squiggles, little puddles, and many other designs that were prevalent at the time. 

While the use of coulis in different designs is still high today, there is a bit of restraint as opposed to the way it was used before.

Ingredients Used 

The full recipe is listed in the recipe card below. For now, here’s a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need.

Fresh Strawberries

Fresh strawberries are the most important ingredient needed for this coulis. While any type of strawberry will do, you need to ensure that the strawberry you are using for the coulis is fresh and free from any defects. 

You can use any size of strawberries, but you will have to cut the bigger strawberry into smaller sizes to use them. 

Lemon Juice

The lemon juice will help to intensify the flavor of the strawberries. 

Sugar

Sugar will help to preserve the strawberry sauce, and it will help to sweeten the sauce. 

What to use Strawberry Sauce with

You can enjoy the strawberry sauce or coulis drizzled over the following

• Over fresh strawberry
• Cheesecakes
• Ice-cream
• Waffles
• Chocolate Cake
• Frozen Yogurt 
• Strawberry Cake

Cook’s Tips For Making Strawberry Coulis

• Although you can use a blender to make the coulis, it is best to cook the strawberries instead.
• The ideal consistency of the strawberry coulis is like that of a syrup. This means that you don’t want to overcook the coulis as it can get too thick and might gel during refrigeration.
• Be sure to wash and cut the strawberry into smaller bite size pieces if you are using a bigger size.
• It is best to remove pits and seeds from the fruit. But this is completely optional. 
• Use a smaller amount of sugar when you start making the coulis. You can always add more sugar if required during the cooking. All you have to do is taste the coulis during preparation. However, you need to do the tasting early on in the preparation process before it gets too hot.  
• While boiling, ensure that you don’t use a very high temperature. You can start with medium-high heat and come to medium heat with time.

Storing and Reheating Options

You can store the strawberry coulis in an airtight container and refrigerate them. This keeps the coulis stable for about one week. You can also reheat the coulis if needed.

More Strawberry Recipes To Enjoy

If you loved this strawberry coulis recipe, we recommend trying one of these recipes next.

Strawberry Layer Cake

Air Fryer Strawberry Turnovers

Strawberry Pancake Recipe

Fresh Strawberry Syrup

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