Friday, September 07, 2012

The Phantom R

When I was growing up, I loved Orange Push-ups from Schwan's. Occasionally, I was offered a dish of a lovely, citrus, frozen treat at the home of my mother's elderly friend. These refreshingly chilly desserts were always called, "sherbeRt."

Sher-Bert.

Bright, fruity ice cream.

Sherbert.

Sometime early in the course of my first full-time job of adulthood, the second R disappeared. It became a phantom during our afternoon calls to the local Dairy Queen to learn which flavor of SHERBET was available that day.

Sher-bet.

I had picked up early on that although my southern bred parents said, "warsh," there was not an R in "wash." It took a little longer for the realization that "sherbert" was actually pronounced "sherbet."

Regardless of how you may articulate it, the Bing Cherry Sherbet that I whipped up this summer was delicious. Creamy, fruity, and rich. Made without an ice cream maker. Yes! Without an ice cream maker. Lusciously easy...although a bit time consuming due to the freezing/whipping process. But, worth it.

Sherbet.


(adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound Bing cherries, pitted and halved
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside.
Stir 2/3 cup sugar and water together in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Transfer syrup to a medium bowl and place bowl in ice-water bath.
Let syrup cool completely, stirring frequently.
In a large mixing bowl (I used the metal bowl of my KitchenAid mixer.), whisk together sour cream, heavy cream, milk, salt, and the syrup.
Transfer to freezer (I put the entire bowl in the freezer.).
After 30 minutes, remove from the freezer and whisk mixture vigorously for 2 minutes (I used my stand mixer.).
Return to freezer.
Repeat whipping every 30 minutes until sherbet is the consistency of whipped cream and whisk leaves a trail, about 3 to 4 hours.
Meanwhile, put cherries, remaining 2/3 cup sugar, and lemon juice in a large pot.
Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until cherries begin to break down and juice thickens, about 30 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool completely. (Warm cherries will destroy the delicate, frozen sherbet.)
Gently fold cherry mixture into sherbet until just combined. (I left swirls of the juices through the sherbet.)
Cover surface of sherbet with parchment paper and freeze in covered container until set, 4 to 6 hours. (Serves 8-10)

1 comment:

  1. Hi Fran, I could so easily eat the whole batch of this stuff. Love the way you left swirls of cherries.

    ReplyDelete

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