Strawberry Sorbet

Have you ever wondered what type of a reaction you would get by calling your husband asking if he would stop to pick up a bottle of vodka on his way home from work? Not that I would know, but he may respond by asking if everything is okay. No, it wasn't the fact that I had a really bad day. I was wanting to make this sorbet with my new batch of strawberries but couldn't run to the store myself because I was already elbow deep preparing dinner.

The chemist in me finds the purpose of adding alcohols such as vodka to different recipes interesting. See, alcohol has both a lower boiling and freezing point than water. When you use it for this pie crust, it evaporates earlier than water would in the oven leaving you with more dry ingredients which creates a flaky crust. It has the opposite effect in cold recipes. Since it freezes at a lower temperature than water, it keeps this sorbet from getting too hard in your freezer. See, chemistry can be fun and delicious =) Vodka or no vodka, this sorbet is delicious! While the vodka serves the purpose of helping keep the sorbet soft, it is an optional ingredient if it is a concerning ingredient for you. Unlike my pie crust above, it will not "cook out" of the recipe since the sorbet mixture is never heated. If you leave it out, you will just want to plan ahead and set the sorbet container out at room temperature for a few minutes before serving. 

Enough about the texture. How did it taste? Absolutely delicious! We made quite a few recipes with those strawberries, and this sorbet is one of my favorites. It was the perfect way to showcase the flavor of the fresh berries and has me searching for other recipes using different fruits. One thing I noticed in searching for a recipe was the large variation in sugar content.  I found recipes varying from 1/4 to 1 cup of sugar for 1 pound of strawberries. I ended up using about 1/3 per pound of berries for our sorbet, and it was plenty sweet for the batch of berries that I had. My other change - lime juice instead of lemon juice. Strawberry-lime is a classic combination. Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Strawberry Sorbet
Adapted from Group Recipes

Ingredients:
2 lbs. strawberries
1 cup cold water
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. vodka (optional)
pinch of salt

Puree the strawberries and cold water in a blender until smooth. Strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds if you want a smooth sorbet (I did this roughly to remove most of the seeds but not all). Stir in the remaining ingredients until the sugar is dissolved. Place in a resealable container and refrigerate until cool or overnight.

When ready to freeze, pour the chilled mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to package directions. Serve immediately or transfer to a resealable container and freeze until ready to use. If desired, remove the sorbet from the freezer for a few minutes before serving to allow it to soften. 

Yield: My 1 qt ice cream freezer was not full. Maybe 6-8 servings

I am linking this to Sweet Tooth Friday, Sweets for Saturday, and Melt in Your Mouth Monday.