Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Ice cream maker
• •Blender or food processor
• •Freezer-safe container with lid

Instructions

1. 1

   Select and prepare strawberries

   Start with the fruit. Your strawberries should be deeply red all the way through, fragrant enough to perfume your kitchen from the counter. No white shoulders, no hollow centers, no berries that smell like nothing. Hull them gently and slice into quarters. If they are small and perfect, halves are fine.

   Taste a berry before you commit. Sweetness varies enormously even within the same basket. If the fruit is less than extraordinary, wait for a better day.
2. 2

   Macerate with sugar

   Toss the strawberry pieces with the sugar in a large bowl. Let them sit at room temperature for thirty to forty-five minutes, stirring once or twice. The sugar draws out the juices, creating a ruby syrup that pools at the bottom. This is where the flavor lives. Do not skip this step.

3. 3

   Blend until smooth

   Transfer the macerated strawberries and all their juices to a blender. Add the buttermilk, lemon juice, and salt. Blend until completely smooth, about one minute. The color should be a soft, honest pink. Taste it. The mixture will taste sweeter before freezing, so it should seem just slightly too sweet at this stage.

   The lemon juice brightens the strawberry flavor without announcing itself. You should not taste lemon, only more strawberry.
4. 4

   Chill the base

   Pour the mixture into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until very cold, at least two hours or overnight. Cold base churns faster and produces a finer texture. Patience here pays dividends.

5. 5

   Churn the sherbet

   Pour the chilled base into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions, usually twenty to twenty-five minutes. The sherbet is ready when it holds soft peaks and pulls away from the sides of the canister. It will be the texture of soft-serve, glossy and just slightly loose.

6. 6

   Freeze until firm

   Transfer the churned sherbet to a freezer-safe container, pressing plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent ice crystals. Freeze until firm enough to scoop, at least two hours. The sherbet is best eaten within a week, while the strawberry flavor still tastes alive.

   Let the container sit at room temperature for five minutes before scooping. Sherbet that is too hard has lost its creamy appeal.

Chef Tips

• •Seek out small, local strawberries from farmers you trust. The large commercial varieties bred for shipping cannot compare. Size is not a virtue in strawberries.
• •Full-fat buttermilk creates the creamiest texture. If you can only find low-fat, the sherbet will still be good, but the body will be thinner.
• •If you have no ice cream maker, pour the blended base into a shallow pan, freeze until solid, then break into chunks and blend again until smooth. Repeat twice for a decent texture.
• •A drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar over the finished scoop is traditional in parts of Italy. Try it once. The combination is startling and correct.

Advance Preparation

• •The base can be refrigerated for up to two days before churning. The flavor deepens as it sits.
• •Churned sherbet keeps for one week in the freezer before the texture begins to suffer and ice crystals form.
• •For a Fourth of July gathering, churn the sherbet the morning of and let it firm in the freezer. It will be perfect by dessert time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 150g)