Blackberry Sherbet

It's that time of year again...making something with blackberries every other day!  I'm picking at least this in the morning and half again as many at night.  Someone needs to start eating!

They are really big this year...and I have to save them from the "devil" Mockingbird.  He likes poking his little beak into everyone of them...this makes him happy!

I try to get out early in the morning before the sun comes up to beat Mr. Devil!

Tonight I am making Blackberry Sherbet.  I've had several requests lately so I'll begin the process with 4 cups of blackberries covered with two cups of sugar.  Let that rest for about 30 minutes.

Next I process the blackberry mixture in my small food processor until smooth.  I pour the whole mixture through my chinoise (a conical sieve with an extremely fine mesh) and let that drip into a pan.

I then discard the solids (all those pesky seeds that like to get stuck in your teeth);

Next...stir in buttermilk. 

Cover and freeze 8 hours.

Once it's been in the freezer for about 8 hours I break the frozen mixture into chunks, and place it in a bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. The whole lot gets returned to the pan; it's covered and put back into the freezer for about 3 more hours (or until firm.)

At this point I scrape it all out of the pan and put it into a plastic container (lasts longer...as long as no one else knows it's in the freezer.)  Keep a few fresh blackberries to garnish your sherbet.

This is a very refreshing dessert for this time of year (considering we hit 105 degrees with the heat index today!)

Now...I only have to wait 8+ hours to eat it!

Here's the complete recipe.

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh blackberries
2 cups sugar
2 cups buttermilk
Garnish: fresh blackberries

Directions:
Stir together 4 cups blackberries and sugar in a bowl; let mixture stand 30 minutes.

Process blackberry mixture in a food processor or blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Pour through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a 9-inch square pan, discarding solids; stir in buttermilk. Cover and freeze 8 hours.

Break frozen mixture into chunks, and place in a bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Return to pan; cover and freeze 3 hours or until firm. Garnish, if desired.

* 2 (14-ounce) packages frozen blackberries, thawed, may be substituted for fresh blackberries.

You can double the ingredient amounts and combine blackberry juice and buttermilk in the freezer container of a 4-quart electric freezer. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Pack freezer with additional ice and rock salt, and let stand 1 hour before serving.

Yield:  1 quart

Until tomorrow...Happy eating...
debi