24 | July | 2015 | Bewitching Kitchen

My latest obsession is America’s Test Kitchen. The TV series, the books, the website, I simply cannot get enough of it. Which is kind of odd, because until recently I was…. how should I put it… a bit “cold” about Christopher Kimball. The convoluted nature of their recipes used to irritated me, as they go on and on about every single variable tested in their kitchen until the elusive best recipe is found. But our friend Steve (my certified saffron-provider) recommended the show, and knowing him, I had to give it a try. Long story short, I am slightly addicted. The recipes always work, which is saying a lot. Chances are that for many recipes you will dirty every single pot you own, but… you won’t be disappointed. First one I tried: raspberry sorbet. Their goal was to come up with a sorbet with excellent texture, just the right amount of sweetness, and one that would not freeze rock solid. The recipe is a bit involved (what else is new, ATK?), but once I tried my first spoonful, I was in raspberry bliss… And you can be there too!

THE ULTIMATE RASPBERRY SORBET

Recipe Overview: To keep the formation of ice crystals to a minimum, their trick is making the sorbet base and dividing it in two unequal parts. A small amount of the base is placed in the freezer, and later churned together with the very cold liquid part reserved in the fridge. A little bit of no-sugar pectin is also added to improve texture. The result is mind-blowing good!

For the full recipe, please visit this link at America’s Test Kitchen. You might have to register with the site to see their recipes, but it is a small price to pay for the opportunity to surf through their huge collection.

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Isn’t the color of the raspberry mixture intoxicatingly beautiful? And matching the color of our Vitamix was a happy coincidence…

This recipe forced me to do something that a couple of years ago I said “never ever again for as long as I live“. Oh, well. I can change my mind as easily as I change my nail polish. I said before but it’s worth repeating: pushing raspberry puree through a sieve is not for sissies.