The weather here in Boston may be having a temper tantrum, but who needs summer to enjoy a frozen treat? This raspberry sorbet will leave your mouth watering for more (at least mine did). It's texture is creamy, it is full of flavor, and it is gently sweet, without all the unnecessary additives that commercial brands sometimes use. So say "hello" to our dairy- and fat-free allergy friendly sorbet:
Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
6 cups raspberries (about 1-3/4 pounds)
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)
Instructions
Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
Place the raspberries and optional lemon juice in a blender and puree until very smooth. Use a fine-mesh strainer placed over a medium bowl to strain the mixture. Continue pressing down and scraping the sides with a rubber spatula until you are left with mostly seeds (this should yield about 2-1/3 cups raspberry puree). Discard the solids.
Add the cooled sugar syrup to the raspberry puree and whisk to incorporate. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.
Whisk the raspberry mixture to recombine. Transfer to an airtight container and place in the freezer for at least 8 hours, or until the sorbet is almost completely frozen. If you can't stand the wait and have an ice cream maker handy, you could speed up the process by freezing according the manufacturer's instructions and then transferring to an airtight container and freezing for an additional 3 hours.
Let sit at room temperature to soften for about 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Tips
Use the freshest fruit you can find - the greatest impact on the sorbet's flavor is fruit you use.
You can substitute any fruit your heart desires, but pectin and fiber act as thickeners, so fruits high in one or both of these create the creamiest sorbets (think berries, lemons, stone fruit, bananas, mangoes, grapes, etc.)
To keep your allergy friendly sorbet fresh, keep it as cold as possible when storing - preferably in the back of your freezer.
Sorbet has also traditionally been used as a palate cleanser between courses. So incorporate it into your next dinner party and raise your "classiness" score!
Some people like to season their sorbets a bit. Examples are adding a dash of course salt when whisking the sugar syrup into the fruit puree, or garnishing the final product with mint leaves.
Trick to Ensure Creamy (Not Icy) Sorbet
After whisking the sugar syrup into the fruit puree, gently submerge a VERY clean egg (wash and dry egg prior to submerging). The golden rule is to have an egg that is mostly submerged, with about a nickel-sized surface of its shell above the mixture.
If the egg sinks to the bottom, the sorbet needs more sugar syrup.
If a larger surface area of the shell is exposed, the mixture needs more liquid: either water or fruit puree.
In either case, I would suggest adding the required ingredients in small increments (about a teaspoon or tablespoon at a time), mixing, and then re-testing.
Too little sugar leads to icy sorbet, while too much sugar will hinder the sorbet from freezing (sugar lowers the freezing point).
And that's all you really need to know about making this delicious ice cream alternative! Buon appetito!
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