A glistening red Strawberry Sorbet is a perfect treat on a hot summer’s day. It has a wonderfully light and refreshing flavor and grainy consistency that belies the fact that it is simply a frozen blend of pureed strawberries and sugar. Sorbets became very popular in the 19th and early 20th century when they were served as a palate cleanser between courses (called Intermezzo which means “in between the work”).

Sorbets, also known as ices, have a softer consistency than sherbets (which contain milk or cream and sometimes eggs). Fruit sorbets are wonderfully light and refreshing, with a grainy consistency, and they only require mixing together and freezing fruit, water, sugar, and lemon juice. The water and sugar are combined to make a sugar syrup, which is chilled, and then added to pureed fruit. To save time you may want to make a large batch of sugar syrup and keep it on hand in the refrigerator. Either fresh or frozen strawberries can be used in this sorbet. Unfortunately, although the strawberries you buy at the local grocery store look beautiful, all shiny and red, they tend to lack sweetness and flavor. If you do not have access to a “you – pick” or farmer’s market, your best bet is to use frozen unsweetened strawberries

Note: Sugar or simple syrups are a combination of sugar and water that is cooked over low heat until the sugar dissolves (and liquid is clear) and then boiled for about 1 minute. The density can vary from heavy (one part sugar to one part water), medium (one part sugar to two parts water), to light (one part sugar to three parts water) depending on how the sugar syrup is to be used. Sugar syrups are used to soak cakes and pastries (called a “soaking syrup” and a flavoring can be added such as extracts, juices or liqueurs), added to fondants to dilute them, used to poach fruit, as a glaze, added to frostings and sorbets, and used in confectionery.

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