The Hungry MouseBlackberry Sorbet
One of my favorite ways to enjoy summer berries is to make sorbet. If you’ve never made sorbet, you may be surprised by how easy it is to do at home. You can’t beat the flavor. Nothing in the supermarket even comes close.
Just puree a few cups of simple syrup with a few pints of fresh blackberries. Run the mixture through a strainer to trap all those pesky seeds. Then process it in an ice cream maker and freeze overnight.
All in all, it’s very little work for a frozen treat that’s bursting with fresh berry flavor (the berry mixture isn’t even cooked).
You’ll need 24 ounces of fresh blackberries for this recipe.
Blackberry Sorbet
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup water
24 oz. fresh blackberries
2 Tbls. fresh lemon juice
Makes about 1 quart of sorbet
Make the simple syrup
Combine the sugar and water in a medium-sized saucepan.
Set the pot on the stove over high heat. Whisk occasionally until the sugar dissolves.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Let it boil for maybe 2 minutes, just to be sure that all the sugar is dissolved.
Remove the pot from the heat. Cool the mixture to room temperature, then pop it in the fridge (or freezer, if you want to hurry it along) to chill it completely.
Puree the blackberries and simple syrup
When your simple syrup is completely chilled, you’re ready to make your sorbet. Grab your blackberries. Pick through them quickly and discard any that are bruised or otherwise suspect looking.
Put about half of the berries in the blender.
Pour in about half of the chilled simple syrup.
Puree on high for maybe 30 seconds, until the berries are completely liquified.
Your mixture should look about like this (kinda gross, but just you wait…):
Strain the blackberry mixture
Set a strainer over a large bowl. Pour the blackberry mixture through the strainer.
It’ll be fairly thick, so stir it with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to push it through.
Push the berry pulp through the strainer with your spatula to squeeze out the last of the liquid.
Blend and strain the remaining blackberries and simple syrup. Then pour the lemon juice into the strained mixture. Stir to combine.
Freeze the sorbet mixture
Because you chilled the simple syrup, your mixture should still be fairly cold. Pour it into your ice cream maker. Process according to the manufacturer’s instructions. For my Cuisinart model, that means processing for about 25 minutes.
As the mixture processes, it’ll get thicker.
When it’s done, it should look about like this. (Like the texture of melted ice cream.)
Transfer it to a freezer-safe container. (I like to use a 1-lb. loaf pan.)
Smooth out the surface. Press a layer of plastic wrap onto the surface, then pinch it tight around the edges of the pan. Pop the pan into the freezer for at least few hours (ideally, overnight), until it’s completely frozen.
Scoop, serve and enjoy!
When your blackberry sorbet is completely frozen, it should look about like this.
It should be firm, but still very scoopable.
Enjoy!
34 Comments on “Blackberry Sorbet”
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That does look simple (and delicious), I’ll have to try it out. I actually have some berries in my fridge right now…
This is stunning, simply stunning! I have been craving a great berry sorbet and you put this up just in time! Copy and pasted and I’ll let you know how it turns out! Beautiful. And I’ll bet it tasted so incredibly delicious!
that looks easy and very refreshing too. I wish I had an ice cream maker so I can make this
I am planning a purple themed dinner party and this would be great for dessert… Now, to whittle down all the recipes on my list!
Looks gorgeous and refreshing.
Oh yum. I love fruit juice sorbets. Duh, I hadn’t thought to just puree the berries! I’d been putting them on the stove to warm and then pushing through a ricer. Your method is much easier.
For your readers who don’t have ice cream makers, you can skip that step and go straight to the freezer, and either whisk the sorbet every hour or two as it’s freezing, or once frozen allow to soften slightly and run through a food processor.
Awesome pics too!
What a lovely use of blackberries!
I am addicted to sorbets lately. This is one I am going to have to definitely try!
Thanks!
Hehe, I’m with you! They’re so summery! Let me know how it goes. Thanks!
+Jessie
This looks so refreshing! (love the way the pink photo turned out as well!)
The colour is just lovely =)
Thanks, honey pie!
+Jessie
I loved the step-by-step pictures. It made this recipe super easy to follow!
Thanks, Carolina!
+Jessie
Can you please give a measurement for the berries in CUPS? For those of us picking fresh berries it would be much easier than weighing them…
This is amazing!
What a great summer treat!
I made this sorbet lastnight and an just trying to now with a freind of mine and it is just FABULOUS!!!! It’s better than I imagined it would be.
Oh yay! So glad you liked it, honey pie!
+Jessie
sorry about the typos in the last comment section! I was just so excited.
for Judith I converted 24 oz. of berries in to 3 1/2 cups… works great.
Thanks so much for doing this!
+Jessie
hi i LOVED how u set up pictures with the steps sooo easy to follow
but i don’t have a ice cream maker is it possible i can just mix the mixture every hour and it’ll turn out like a sorbet?
Hey Christina,
Thanks so much! (And thanks for stopping by!)
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can definitely try mixing the mixture every hour or so as it freezes. I haven’t done this with this recipe, but my guess is that the texture will just be a little more coarse. Let me know how it turns out?
+Jessie
What did you do with the other half of the syrup and blackberries? Did they go in the blender after the first half?
Yep! (The note is right above the picture where you add the lemon juice.)
Cheers!
+Jessie
Great recipe! I had an epiphany while I was making this and it turned out to be an awesome accident so I wanted to share. If you use 1/4 cup of ginger syrup in place of an equal portion of the simple syrup, the sorbet takes on a much more berry like flavor and has a great but subtle spicy note that everyone around here loves.
Note: Ginger syrup
1 lb fresh ginger sliced
3 cups cold water
2 cups sugar
Allow the sliced ginger to dry at room temperature for an hour or so to increase the oxidation (spiciness). Place ginger in a pot and cover with the cold water; bring to a boil until the water has reduced to about a cup. Strain the liquid and discard the ginger (or use it in noodle dishes like pad thai). Return the liquid to the pot and add the sugar, bring to a boil and reduce until the temperature registers ~216F at sea level. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for upto to a couple of months.
I tracked this back to you from Saveur… what a GREAT recipe! I have added your site to my RSS feed and will follow you! Thanks for a very nice site!
Jessie! Thanks for tweeting this. We have abundant wild blackberries around our property. Can’t wait to make this with plump berries just gathered from the vine. Summer heaven!
I’ve made sorbet by adding all the ingredients to the simple syrups, pouring it into ice cube trays, then blending the cubes in a blender after it’s frozen. I think it turns out a little softer than the pictures here look, but also a good way to make sorbet without an icecream maker.
I just made a very small batch w/ the berries that we had! I made if for my husband but it is so good he may not get any! This was so simple and very tasty.
Yum! Sorbet really is a lot easier than people think.
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Somebody tell me why I don’t have an ice cream freezer–I seem to have every other sort of kitchen gadgetry! Of course, I don’t know where I’d put one more. But this recipe has me in a “state.” I might not be able to make it to the end of National Ice Cream Month without buying an ice cream maker!
I made this for my husband last year and he LOVED it. So when I bought some more berries this year he was thrilled. I got home to find that I had not bookmarked your page – I looked through Google images until I found it! Needless to say your site is bookmarked now
Blackberry tonight – trying Watermelon tomorrow