Author Notes
The long hot summer is here and I've been making sorbet with my children almost every day of the week. This luscious sorbet sings of cherries ripened in the summer sun. Lime is a natural partner with cherry as long as it doesn't steal the show; the trick is finding the right balance to allow the cherry flavor to shine. I think this sorbet does just that. NOTE: I've been experimenting with agave and am not sure if it is necessary to boil the water/agave mixture to make a syrup. I've come across some recipes that simply mix the agave in. However, when I made this recipe I boiled the syrup and so that's how I have it written. This sorbet is also best within a day or two of making it; it gets a little hard once it sits in the freezer for an extended period of time. TIP: If you are making a lot of sorbets like I have been, making the simple syrup the night before is a time saver. Doing it ahead of time ensures that my syrup is extra cold and ready for the next concoction. - gingerroot —gingerroot
Test Kitchen Notes
Very simple, good and refreshing, thanks to the lime. My kids lapped it up. - Amanda —The Editors
Ingredients
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1 1/2 cups
water
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1/2 cup
1 Tablespoon light agave
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3 cups
ripe but firm cherries, pitted, halved (about 50)
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1/2 cup
freshly squeezed lime juice
Directions
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Make a simple syrup by bringing water and agave to a boil. Boil for two minutes, until thoroughly combined. Take off heat and let cool. Pour mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled.
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Combine cherries, lime juice and chilled simple syrup in a blender. Puree until mostly liquefied, allowing some cherry bits to remain (cherry bits add color and texture to sorbet).
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Pour mixture into your ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. After 40 minutes in my machine, the sorbet was soft but smooth. Freeze longer for a firmer sorbet.
My most vivid childhood memories have to do with family and food. As a kid, I had the good fortune of having a mom who always encouraged trying new things, and two grandmothers who invited me into their kitchens at a young age. I enjoy cooking for the joy it brings me - sharing food with loved ones - and as a stress release. I turn to it equally during good times and bad. Now that I have two young children, I try to be conscientious about what we cook and eat. Right about the time I joined food52, I planted my first raised bed garden and joined a CSA; between the two I try to cook as sustainably and organically as I can. Although I'm usually cooking alone, my children are my favorite kitchen companions and I love cooking with them. I hope when they are grown they will look back fondly at our time spent in the kitchen, as they teach their loved ones about food-love.
Best of all, after years on the mainland for college and graduate school, I get to eat and cook and raise my children in my hometown of Honolulu, HI. When I'm not cooking, I am helping others grow their own organic food or teaching schoolchildren about art.
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