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2August 6, 2013Summer by Erica

Fresh Blackberry Sorbet

So, my last post was about making ice cream and then I got busy and haven’t posted in a week and now I’m back with a post about sorbet. This is not what I’d call a blogging win, because clearly I am obsessed with homemade frozen desserts. You can’t really blame me – it’s 85 degrees outside in Seattle, which is the extreme upper limit of what we mossbacks consider an acceptable temperature range. So, fresh blackberry sorbet it is.

This sorbet was inspired by a beautiful harvest of Triple Crown Thornless blackberries. I planted this cultivated blackberry last year, so this is the first year we are harvesting from it. I am blown away at how awesome this plant is. I have none nothing except whack at the canes with my Felcos a little bit, and it’s putting out big clusters of huge fruits that are very sweet and very easy to harvest (did I mention this blackberry is thornless!)

Big berries. I mean really, really big.

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Fresh Blackberry Sorbet

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Ingredients

  • 2 lbs fresh, ripe blackberries
  • ½ cup organic sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • 2-3 small sprigs mint, lemon verbena, Thai basil or other blackberry-compatible herb. (Optional, but I like a subtle herbal quality with berries.)
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • ¼ cup Cointreau

Method:

  • Rinse and dry blackberries gently.
  • Boil sugar, water and mint together until sugar is fully dissolved. You should have about 3/4 cup simple syrup when you are done. Strain syrup and chill completely. The simple syrup can be made up to several days ahead of time and kept refrigerated.
  • Puree blackberries, mint simple syrup, lemon juice and Cointreau together in a food processor until very smooth.
  • If desired, strain seeds from blackberry puree by working mixture through a fine mesh strainer.
  • Chill blackberry puree for 1-2 hours
  • Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.
  • For a firmer sorbet, transfer to a freezer safe container with a tight fitting lid and freeze for several hours.

For The Visual Folks:

I washed the berries and assembled the rest of the ingredients: mint simple syrup, lemon juice and Cointreau.

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The ingredients were pureed in a food processor fitted with the metal S-blade until smooth, and then strained to remove seeds.

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I recommend using a fine mesh strainer and a small ladle to get all the good juicy bits of the sorbet base out whilst leaving the seeds behind.

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I chilled the sorbet mixture for an hour or so, then poured it into my ice cream maker.

I used to use the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment for my stand mixer, but it started leaking blue coolant all over everything – even into my ice cream! I’ll admit this put the breaks on my ice cream obsession temporarily, but now I am the proud owner of a rather awesome new Cuisinart 2-Quart ice cream maker. Back in business! Yeah!

Screen shot 2013-08-05 at 11.06.08 PM

The sorbet finished in the ice cream maker with a rather soft-serve texture, so I transferred it to a glass container and popped it in the freezer to firm up until after dinner time.

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My daughter wasn’t sure if she wanted the blackberry sorbet or the ginger peach jam ice cream or the fresh picked blueberries. The nice thing about August is, you don’t actually have to pick.

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Note: I liked the sweetness of this sorbet just fine, but I was using dead ripe, cultivated berries. If you make this recipe with wild or more sweet-tart berries, you may need to adjust the sugar level up a bit.

2

Author: Erica Filed Under: Summer Tagged With: Blackberries, Desserts, DessertImportant Stuff: Affiliate disclosure

About Erica

Hi! I'm Erica, the founder of NWEdible and the author of The Hands-On Home. I garden, keep chickens and ducks, homeschool my two kids and generally run around making messes on my one-third of an acre in suburban Seattle. Thanks for reading!

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Comments

  1. ms says

    August 6, 2013 at 8:10 am

    Yes, either those are ginormous blackberries or you have the hands of a 5 year old. 🙂

    • Erica says

      August 6, 2013 at 8:22 am

      No, my hands are huge! I’m nearly 5’10” tall and have a size 11 shoe, to put it in perspective. I’m not a dainty thing…the berries really are just that big! 🙂

      • g says

        August 10, 2013 at 6:33 am

        Good thing you are high energy person, I have seen those berry plants growing on your side of the state you will likely be fighting them off like Ripley in aliens in a year or two to keep them from taking over the entire block!

  2. Shanna R. says

    August 6, 2013 at 8:44 am

    Big time berry envy! They’re amazing, beautiful. My mouth is watering. Thanks for the recipe.

  3. Tanya @ Lovely Greens says

    August 6, 2013 at 9:53 am

    Those berries look AMAZING. I propagated a few thornless blackberry plants last year but don’t expect to have any fruit until next year. Can’t wait!

  4. Kat says

    August 6, 2013 at 10:03 am

    Wowza!
    I wonder if those berries would grow on the other side of the state…

  5. Lisa Cotter says

    August 6, 2013 at 4:18 pm

    Do you have to use the Cointreau or can you substitute something else?

    • Renae says

      July 3, 2014 at 4:22 pm

      I often use Blackberry Schnappes, although not in my batch made last night (small children will be at tomorrow’s cookout!)

  6. Samaine says

    August 6, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    I have a question: what is your soil like where the Triple Crown are planted? Here in VA we have clay that is highly acidic and while our TC blackberries have been prolific, they are quite sour. (Yes, we are sure to pick them when truly ripe.) I’m thinking it’s the soil. Any ideas?
    Thanks for the recipe.

  7. reddirtmomma says

    August 8, 2013 at 6:20 pm

    Oh man, we planted our first blackberry bushes this year. Hopefully we will have enough to make this in a year or two!

  8. Kerri says

    August 27, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    Wow and Yum!! I live in the Seattle area, and there is a huge blackberry bush/plant/monstrosity two blocks over. I have been picking and freezing like crazy. Even my dog loves those blackberries..she picks low, I pick high! LOL Do you think this recipe would work with frozen berries? The plant is winding down now, so not so many….
    Thanks!
    p.s. Grand Marnier instead of Contrieu?

    • Renae says

      July 3, 2014 at 4:19 pm

      Yes, frozen berries are absolutely fine. Made Blackberry sorbet last night, (prepping for the 4th) and I used a combination of some frozen berries and fresh.

  9. Rachel says

    February 2, 2014 at 8:47 pm

    I’m in Seattle and wondering if you find this variety to be weedy/invasive at all? Seems like a fabulous plant in terms of yield, but wanted to check before putting it in my yard.

Trackbacks

  1. Top 10 Blackberry Recipes | talkhealth Blog says:
    August 11, 2014 at 9:52 pm

    […] Fresh Blackberry Sorbet (Northwest Edible Life) – this looks like a delicious alternative to icecream, and has much […]

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