Strawberry Sorbet

Strawberry sorbet is a wonderful dessert to keep around, especially in summer. It is sweet and a little tart and very refreshing. It is such a pretty color.

You can play around with adding other flavors. I sometimes add fresh herbs, like mint or pineapple sage. Vanilla or citrus zest are nice add ins, too. I added a few lavender blossoms to this batch.

Sorbets can be served on their own, with cake, or drizzled with chocolate sauce. I sometimes add a scoop of sorbet to a glass of lemonade or ice tea on a hot day. So refreshing.  Sorbet can be a fun topper in cocktails, too.

You can make sorbet in an ice cream machine, if you have one, but you don’t need to. I don’t. It really is simple. As an added bonus, once your sorbet is made, you have it on hand whenever you need a dessert. The secret is to blend the sorbet a couple of times after it is frozen, if you can. Each time, the sorbet gets smoother and creamier. I use my food processor.

Strawberry Sorbet

1 1/2 lbs strawberries, fresh or frozen

1/2 c. sugar, or to taste – you could also sweeten with honey, if you prefer, or use no sweetener

1 T. lime or lemon juice

Wash and stem berries. Place in food processor with juice and blend until smooth. Sweeten to taste, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Place in a container with a lid and freeze. Once frozen, remove strawberry mix from freezer and sit it on the counter to soften a little bit. This is really the important part. You don’t want it to thaw, but you do want it soft just enough to break into chunks. Place chunks in food processor and blend it again. It will actually start to look a little creamy and lighter in color. You can serve it right away- or put it back in the freezer to serve later. At this point the sorbet is ready- but you can repeat the soften/process step once more, if you like, for even creamier sorbet. Makes 3-4 cups.

Note: If you have an ice cream maker, you can just pour the chilled mixture into it, and process as you would for ice cream.