Easy Strawberry Sorbet

I kept the tab to the Serious Eats article on How to Make the Best Sorbet open for three days. I was reading it almost two sentences at a time, with hours in between readings. Let's just say focus was lacking... 

There was about a pound of strawberries already in the fridge and I got it into my head that I wanted to try making a batch of sorbet as a test before the next heatwave hit. In fact, once I did my last batch of mango ice cream, I cleaned the canister and put it back in the freezer for that very reason. (Focus no, foresight yes!)

Serious Eats had a recipe and some very specific suggestions. But, of course, I knew I wouldn’t follow it. For one thing, I had about half of what their “recipe” required. Also, Mom had already cut the strawberries (about one-one half pounds) and they were marinating in a dash of rum and about a tablespoon of sugar. They had been in there for a couple of days and the sugar and rum worked together to plump up, soften and create a little more juice. [Click link for more information about macerating fruit.]

For the sorbet, I added about a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt, half a cup of sugar, and a teaspoon of lemon juice. I whipped it in the blender for about a minute and put it in the freezer for a few minutes to get it cold again (just short of icy). The recipe called for straining but I like the unexpected crunchiness of the seeds, so I skipped that step.

The idea was to churn it for about 20 minutes, but the truth is that I completely forgot I had set it up and had the machine running and it churned for over 40 minutes. Luckily, it didn’t get soupy. It doesn’t need to run that long.

The verdict of our first taste test: soft and naturally creamy (velvety is a good word for it too), not too sweet and just tangy enough. The color is beautiful, a deep red that will just make you happy to look at it!

Strawberry sorbet, version 1

Just as we’re unlikely to purchase ice cream again, we are now unlikely to spend any more money on store-bought sorbet. We are lucky to have good access to fruit markets year-round, so don’t be surprised if the next sorbet news includes dragon fruit…