Paul Bertolli's food processor sorbet
I’d eventually lilke to have an ice cream maker, but I’m waiting until I get a stand mixer so that I can just get the attachment, instead of getting two separate appliances. I love the idea of making my own ice creams and sorbets, and I was thrilled to find a recipe for sorbet that didn’t need an ice cream maker at all. Paul Bertolli’s Cooking by Hand is full of recipes that you can do mostly without special appliances. This is great for people with small kitchens (and no good for people who aren’t willing to spend a lot of time to make something that could easily be bought).
You do need a food processor for this sorbet, although a blender might work too. And you need a quart of the most fragrant and delicious strawberries you can find.
The recipe is barely a recipe. Stem the strawberries, spread them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and freeze them solid (about two hours). Put the berries in a food processor with 5 tablespoons of sugar, and pulse them until the fruit breaks up. Add 1/4 cup of water and purée the mixture. Pour it into a container, and freeze for about two more hours, until you can scoop it. I stirred it periodically as it was freezing, but this is not in the directions.
Bertolli writes that the intensity of this sorbet “is due to the low cutting action of the processor blades.” And it does taste and smell intensely of strawberries. If you start this recipe about two hours before a summer dinner party, you can shock your guests at the end of the meal by pulling out a quart of beautiful homemade sorbet, which they’ll smell before they can see.
Comments
i almost always opt for sorbet over ice cream – and i have a pint of strawberries i didn’t know what to do with sitting in my fridge right now! what a timely post leland…
Yum, yum, yum. I’m with Jeannie, sorbet is better than ice cream. You can also add rum, triple sec and some lime juice and call this a daiquiri, that’s what I did with about half the strawberries I picked last year. You really should get yourself a stand mixer. I’m really, really sorry I don’t live closer to you, I have a source for getting them at cost.
Leland- Do you think this would work with raspberries? And if so, do you think you’d need to strain out the seeds? This sounds wonderful & refreshing!
Jeannie’s right, now I know what to do with those strawberries in my fridge. Thanks! And yes, sorbet’s better than ice cream, although my husband, Rob, would definitely disagree. Now, I think that mixing that with other berries would be killer too.
I have done this with sour cherries too but you have
to be willing to put up with the skin factor. But is
is delicious.
Good luck, Jeannie! Let me know how it turns out.
Mary: get back here with your source! Just kidding—I’m going to ask for one for Christmas this year.
Aunt Sue: I wondered that too. It sounds like Friend of Ted, below, did it with cherries and had success. It’s definitely worth trying! I would probably want to pass it through the food mill, though, to get rid of those pesky seeds.
Christine, and everyone else: as much as I enjoy sorbet, I am an ice cream boy at heart. My first boyfriend was always shocked at how much ice cream we ate in our house. He used to say, “Yinz go through ice cream like water!” I don’t think we’ve ever bought sorbet.
Your description of being able to smell the sorbet before you see it makes me totally anxious to try this. It looks so pretty too.
I love sorbet. This looks like a delicious cool treat!
We used to make this in the summer here, down South, with Scuppernong grapes. Really delicious. They’re just as fragrant as the berries, but like cherries, you have to usually deal with the skin factor. I did have an aunt who peeled her scuppernongs before turning them into preserves/jelly/sorbet, but she was a far more patient soul than myself.
I’m so glad you posted a good recipe for it using the food processor! I’m totally going to make some this weekend!
Sorbet is really amazing stuff, especially in the summer. Unfortunately, I don’t have a food processor or a blender (though, at one point, I owned two of each), but I forwarded this along to a couple people who would probably enjoy making this.
It is so fragrant, Julie. I hope you try it!
Hi Susan. Mmm, I love the sound of Scuppernong grapes. What a great word, scuppernong.
Colin: I wonder if you could do it by hand, by chopping and stirring aggressively. Probably not worth it.
I made sorbet this weekend.I used a 1/2 bag of frozen whole strawberries (or use as much as you like).,and three bananas ( frozen )added 1 tablespoon of smuckers all fruit strawberry jam. Put it all in the food processor and processed away. It is so good. I am going to experiment because I love sorbet since I can’t have ice cream anymore because of the fat content. By the way, does anyone have any sorbet recipes with lavender in it? I would love to have it.
Has anyone done this with lemons and limes as a main ingredient? Would need the addition of honey maybe?
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