Last week a colleague from our new department in KSU stopped by my office and asked if I liked raspberries. No need to think much about the answer! It turns out that he is an amazing gardener, and a very active member of the Manhattan Community Garden, a project that started in 1974 and never stopped growing. Small plots of land are rented to whoever wants to grow fruits or vegetables. The city provides the water, tools, and a lot of advice. You can read more about it here. Maybe one day Phil and I can join and become better gardeners… 😉
Back to berries. A few hours later, our colleague comes back with a big box of raspberries, still warm from the sun! I know, I know, everyone should be so lucky! I wanted to put them to good use, so I made a delicious raspberry sorbet. Phil and I bravely fought over the last spoonful a few evenings later. 😉
RASPBERRY SORBET
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)
4 to 5 cups raspberries
1 cup fresh blueberries (optional, see comments)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Make a simple syrup by heating the sugar with the water in a saucepan (or microwave) until the sugar is fully dissolved. Allow it to cool, no need to refrigerate.
Place the raspberries in the bowl of a food processor and process until very smooth, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice. Pour the puree through a fine-mesh strainer and strain the mixture, pressing down and scraping the inside of the strainer with a silicone spatula. You will need a little more than 2 cups of smooth puree. If you don’t have enough, you can use blueberries to bring the volume up.
Whisk the simple syrup and the lemon juice into the raspberry purée. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours. Pour the mixture in your ice cream maker and process it according to the instructions of your machine. Once the sorbet is ready, place it in a container and freeze for a few hours before serving.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: Making the puree of raspberries is very easy using a food processor, but I went through three sizes of strainers to find the one that allowed me to separate the seeds from the pulp without too much grievance. It is not a pleasant job, but it ensures a smooth sorbet, so Keep Calm and Carry On. I added a little bit of blueberries (simply processed, no need to strain them), to make a volume of puree that would work in my ice cream maker, but if you have enough raspberry pulp, you can get by without any other fruit. Add 3/4 of the simple syrup to begin with, once you have the base all ready, taste it and decide if you need more. Raspberries have different degrees of tartness, and if you add other berries (strawberries could work well too) you will need less sugar. I cannot think of a better way to close the season…
ONE YEAR AGO: When three is better than two
TWO YEARS AGO: Grating Tomatoes (and loving it!)
THREE YEARS AGO: A Peachy Salad for a Sunny Day
Bewitching Kitchen 
I love rasberries! the color alone is so refreshing 🙂
I need to find friends who are gardners or talk my friends into taking up gardening
LikeLike
I love them too, but they are pretty expensive sometimes – I could not believe when he handed me that huge amount, apparently his garden produces a ton of it, not to mention apples, okra, tomatoes of many varieties etc etc. I must go and visit, although I have such a negative effect on plants, maybe I should keep my distance
LikeLike
The sorbet is a beautiful colour. I’ve had similar difficulties in finding a sieve of the appropriate size to remove the seeds without embedding them in the sieve and preventing any of the puree from passing through. It’s very frustrating. 🙂
LikeLike
Frustrating indeed. It was my first time doing it, and let’s say there was some profanity involved…. 😉
LikeLike
Just the most beautiful colours, Sally! Sieving is a right pain though, isn’t it? 🙂
LikeLike
Not sure I’ll be up for the challenge of sieving those babies ever again, but maybe with time I’ll forget the pain…
LikeLike
What great luck. Beautiful recipe too.
LikeLike
He also gave me a bag of okra… stay tuned! 😉
LikeLike
Great color to your sorbet and a great tip about using blueberries to increase the volume of the purée.I’ve always got blueberries in my freezer but raspberries tend to disappear, seemingly within hours of being purchased.
LikeLike
I actually lost quite a bit of pulp due to my clumsiness dealing with three strainers and raspberry juice squirting around the kitchen and one particular dog.
LikeLike
Refreshing sorbet! Unfortunately, in my house, raspberry is always get eaten first before I have a chance to turn it into any dessert.
LikeLike
Same here, I had to make the sorbet the very day he gave me the fruit, because “someone” would attack the box that evening with a little Greek yogurt on the side. 😉 Well, I would help him out too, I am no saint
LikeLike
Yes, Sally, you are so lucky!! Love that you used minimal ingredients to bring out the pure berry flavors!! Gorgeous in presentation!
LikeLike
I also like the simplicity of it, although I was wondering afterwards if a little alcohol of some type could complement it. Not sure, though.
LikeLike
Oi Sally, a cor está linda e o sabor deve ser maravilhoso.Amei.Beijos e uma ótima semana.
LikeLike
Obrigada, Vanderleia! Uma excelente semana para voce tambem!
LikeLike
Although I can’t bear to think of summer’s end, I do think this is a gorgeous excuse to celebrate! Love this lemony berry sorbet… such a pretty colour too Sally! The flecks of blueberry amidst the raspberry look fabulous.
LikeLike
You and me both. I am so glad the warm weather is still here… I know it will come to an end, and I’ll turn into a bitter person, particularly early in the morning when I need to put the dogs out in temperatures below 75F. The humanity!
LikeLike
i am so sad I didn’t make sorbet before the summer ends- but thanks to southern weather- its still blazin hot here so I still have time!
LikeLike
Go for it! Phil was asking me when I’ll be making another batch, but I need some time to recover from the sieving… not for sissies.
LikeLike
I want to come work there now too! A big box of fresh raspberries?!!! I’d be in heaven. Absolute heaven. Your sorbet looks wonderful. I’d bet on you in the fight for the last spoonful by the way. 😉
LikeLike
and get this: at the entrance of the building, someone (I suspect it’s our colleague) left a HUGE, and I mean HUGE box of special small apples with the note: these are the best apples for apple pie. There will be more.
I might just have to make an apple pie in the near future, right?
LikeLike
Lucky indeed! The sorbet looks gorgeous (and tastes gorgeous, too, I am sure).
LikeLike
So, which strainer finally worked the best?
LikeLike
I should probably take a picture of it and add to this post. Maybe I will do it this weekend… 🙂 Anyway, the only strainer that worked had a slightly more open grid than the other two. One was a chinoise type, big, big mistake. Nothing goes through it, the seeds block the openings and it will take a long time to clean it. Never ever do that! 😉 THe other was not as tight as a chinoise, but still too small. You will need a strainer that almost seems too big to do the job. yeap, a picture would be great, will do so and edit the post. Stay tuned.
LikeLike