It's already March and Summer is here, bringing with it the sunny, sunny days. Bye, Bye winter with your bone chilling cold and dreary days. All through winter I am wrapped up in sweaters and thick socks all day long. Although it doesn't snow here, it's still pretty cold. But all that is gone now...my sweaters and socks are all bundled up in some corner until the next time I need them in June when the rains start and my summer clothes are all out from the corner I had thrown them in. And the best part our Strawberry patch is full of fruit. YUM!
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| One of our larger strawberry patches |
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| strawberry hidden among the leaves |
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| strawberry in the patch |
These strawberries are not like the packed ones that are sold commercially. I guess these are the wild variety. As you can see in the picture below they vary in size and are a bright orangish red color, rather than the dark red colored ones you get in the packs. And the taste is also very different, these strawberries have a very nice balance of sweet and tart flavors, whereas the ones you buy are sometimes sickly sweet.
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| The strawberries I picked this morning |
These strawberries can be used the same way as the ones you buy. But you might want to do a taste test to adjust the amount of sugar. I prefer it to be slightly tart so I leave them as they are. Last year, we had a good strawberry crop. Mum and I made 2 bottles of strawberry sauce. Each day we got a large bowlful, and we had to make the sauce daily. Finally when we didn't have any spare bottles left, so I made milkshakes twice a day (I think I can blame strawberries for adding to my weight) and we still had some left over. So the left over ones, we let it become squishy and soft ( just leave them for about a day or two to get to this stage) and we just put the pulp on our faces and hands (easy homemade fruit facial without any chemicals :))
This time, we've made another bottle of strawberry sauce. And while I hunt around for more fancy glass jars, I decided to do something else out of all those strawberries. And before the summer days get too hot and we start wilting in the sweltering heat, I decided to celebrate summer with a very nice strawberry sorbet. Sorbet is the perfect dessert for summer, it provides the icy cool we all search for in the heat of summer. And because it has no cream or eggs, it makes for a very light, refreshing dessert. So here's to the advent of summer with a bowl of strawberry sorbet.
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| My half finished bowl of glistening red strawberry sorbet |
Strawberry Sorbet Recipe
Adapted from the recipe by Stephanie Jowarski
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/3 cup (80 ml) water
1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar
2 1/2 cups (454 grams) fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
Directions
Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan, over low heat, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved (about 3-5 minutes). Boil the mixture for one minute then remove from heat. Pour the sugar syrup into a heatproof container, and place in the refrigerator until completely chilled (about an hour or so).
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| cooled sugar syrup |
Meanwhile, thaw the frozen strawberries and then place the thawed strawberries in a food processor and process until the strawberries are pureed.
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| pureed strawberries in the food processor |
Transfer to a large bowl, add the lemon juice and zest, and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled. (If using fresh strawberries, puree the berries in the food processor, transfer to a large bowl, add the lemon juice and zest, and place in the refrigerator until chilled.)
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| Pureed strawberries with lemon zest and juice |
Once the simple syrup and pureed strawberries are completely chilled, combine the simple syrup with the pureed strawberries. Transfer the mixture to the chilled container of your ice cream machine and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once made, transfer the sorbet to a chilled container and store in the freezer.
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| Frozen sorbet |
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| The jewel red strawberry sorbet |
Note: If you do not have an ice cream machine, then pour the mixture into a 8 inch (20 cm) or 9 inch (23 cm) stainless steel pan (sorbets will freeze faster in stainless steel), cover with plastic wrap, and place in the freezer. When the sorbet is completely frozen (3 to 4 hours), remove from freezer and let stand at room temperature until partially thawed. Transfer the partially thawed sorbet to the food processor, and process to break up the large ice crystals that have formed on the sorbet. (This step is what gives the sorbet its wonderful fluffy texture.) Place the sorbet back into the pan and refreeze for at least three hours, and up to several days.
Have a wonderful joy filled summer :)
Until next time, Happy Baking!
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