Strawberry Sorbet

Last night I went to the grocery store after work and there were beautiful strawberries on a terrific sale! Ben was taking me out to the local hamburger place for dinner, so I had time to make this strawberry sorbet. The recipe is simple and you can use whatever fruits are in season and look scrumptious! This recipe is an adaptation of an old Chez Panisse recipe. I changed the method though because almost all sorbet / ice cream recipes require the mix to chill overnight in the refrigerator and then a good chilling again in the freezer for the finished product. That's a lot of advanced planning in my opinion! This recipe allows you to make the sorbet in one session from start to finish. I had it done and in the freezer by the time we left for the restaurant. Then we could enjoy a refreshing dessert at home afterwards! You can use any fruit to make this so I call it:

"Anything" Sorbet

2/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. water

4 c. any kind of fruit

1 Tbl. Kirsch (optional, but very delicious--if you don't use it, use fresh lemon juice)

Put the sugar and water in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 2 min. Stir until dissolved and put in the freezer to cool while you wash and trim up the fruit as necessary. Put the fruit through a food mill or process in a blender or food processer and pour into a *metal bowl. Add the cooled sugar syrup and the Kirsch or lemon juice to the fruit. Place in the freezer for 30min. to cool down well. Freeze in an electric ice cream maker for 25-30 min. Pack into another sealable container and store in the freezer.

*Metals have a low specific heat, which means they conduct and release heat quickly. Using a metal bowl instead of plastic or ceramic allows the mixture to cool faster. I have a background in chemistry, so I think it's fun to transfer that knowledge to making things easier in the kitchen! However, I'm told most people couldn't care less about the specific heat of metals, so feel free to ignore these digressions when necessary!

Notes: If you don't have a food mill, they are terrific kitchen tools. I never had one for a long time and didn't miss it, but now that I have one, I really like it! You can pay a lot (like over $150) for a fancy one, but I bought a plastic mill that had steel inserts for $25 and it works great!

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