Seattlest Picks Blackberries, this Time for Sorbet

Blackberry week continues with Seattlest Rachael's blackberry sorbet recipe

At 7:30 on Sunday morning--when we should have been doing something productive like sleeping--we slipped out of our apartment and walked a few paces up the street to an overgrown parking lot teeming with blackberries. We picked a few handfuls and returned home to make what would be the most knee-bucklingly amazing sorbet we’ve ever tasted. It was plain and simple and tasted exclusively of fresh blackberries.

We wondered why this particular sorbet, among the many we’ve concocted over the years, stood out. After much tasting and musing, our conclusion tended toward the Alice Waters’ school of thought: so tiny was the space (1/2 a block) and time (20 minutes) that these berries traveled to their destination, that much like shrimp carried straight from the dock or tomatoes still warm from the sun, this sorbet tasted of delicious proximity.

Unless you are one of those lucky and virtuous people with a backyard garden that constantly offers up fresh-picked delights, this time of year may be your only opportunity to experience that kind of immediacy. So gratifying, so resourceful, so gastronomically remunerative is in-city foraging, that if you don’t rush out right now and get blackberries for sorbet, a pie, or Dan’s vodka infusion, you are, officially and unequivocally, a sucker.

The truth is that we can’t give you an exact recipe for blackberry sorbet, but don’t worry. Depending on the sweetness and acidity of your berries, you will need varying amounts of sugar and lemon juice which can be easily measured to taste. First, make a simple syrup by combining equal parts (say one cup each) of water and sugar in a saucepan, bring to a boil and allow to cool. Next, puree your blackberries until smooth (adding a splash of syrup is helpful to get things going, especially in a blender). Pour the puree through a strainer to remove the seeds. Now! Add a squeeze of lemon and a splash of simple syrup and taste, then repeat this, slowly adding and tasting until the sorbet base tastes right--it should be slightly sweeter than you want the frozen sorbet, freezing mutes the sweetness. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions; or if you don’t have an ice cream maker, you could try the enterprising ziplock bag method outlined here.

Photo by Rachael Coyle