Berry Sorbet / JillHough.com

Berry Sorbet

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This is an awesome treat for summertime, when berries are at their absolute best.

You can use one kind of berry or a mixture. But if you include blueberries, they need to be cooked beforehand. It’s easy—in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, cook the blueberries with a bit of water until they’re very soft, then let them cool before proceeding.

Makes about 1 quart

  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 1 1/4 pounds ripe strawberries, blackberries, blueberries (cooked as directed above), or a combination, stems removed from strawberries
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
  • Kosher salt

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar and water. Bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Set aside. (You should have almost 2 cups.)

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the berries and puree, scraping the bowl as necessary. Strain the puree through a medium mesh sieve into a mixing bowl. (You should have about 2 cups.) Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the simple syrup, 2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice, and a pinch of salt. Taste and add more syrup, juice, or salt as necessary. (Make your sorbet base very assertive—once it’s frozen, the flavor will be less intense.) Thoroughly chill, then freeze according to ice cream maker’s manufacturer’s directions.

Variations: Rosemary-Infused Berry Sorbet

It sounds pretty kooky, but trust me—berries and rosemary is a fabulous combination. (If you already know that, you might like to try my Strawberry Rosemary Muffins.)

Start by combining 3/4 cup of fresh rosemary leaves and 2 tablespoons of sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Process for a few seconds to bruise the rosemary (it’s okay if it isn’t chopped). In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the rosemary mixture with 1 1/4 cups water and 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain the syrup and let cool to room temperature. Continue with the second paragraph in the main recipe.

For how to make sorbet—berry or otherwise—without a recipe, read this blog post.

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