This recipe takes about 48 hours to prepare because it involves two separate 18-24 hour freezing stages.
- 4 cups fresh cranberries
- 4 cups water
- 1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin
- 1/2 Cup reserved berry water
- 2 Cups sugar
- 1/3 Cup lemon juice
- 1/3 Cup orange juice
Rinse cranberries, and place with water in a large soup pot. Boil on medium-high heat until berries are soft and a few have popped open. Remove ½ cup of the cranberry juice, and refrigerate it for later use.
Drain berries, saving the rest of the cranberry juice for consumption or other recipes.
Use a rotary food mill (combination hand-crank grinder and strainer) to remove pulp from the drained berries. To ensure you have no shells, use the filter with the round holes instead of the holes that look like slashes. Turn the crank on the colander lid. As the half-lid turns around and down the strainer basket, and it pops the shells, pushes the pulp through the bottom and sides of the strainer and flips the empty shells over the top of the lid. Save all berry pulp and discard shells.
Mix the Knox unflavored gelatin with 1/2 cup chilled juice and the sugar. Add the berry pulp and heat the mixture, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves. Cool the berry mixture to room temperature then add juices and mix well. Pour the berry mixture into old-fashioned ice trays with the separators removed, or a 7 x 11 – inch pan or a 9 x 13 – inch pan. If you double the recipe, use an 11 x 15 x 2-inch pan. The sherbet should not be more than 1 inch deep for this part. Freeze the sherbet into a smooth ice. “Crack” the ice trays to remove sherbet, or chop it up to remove from larger trays or pans. Mix the sherbet ice with a hand mixer or a standing Mixmaster. Beating the sherbet ice fluffs it up and lightens the color, but it is still a rich cranberry red. Spoon into a single container from which you will serve it and freeze again in final batch. Serve the sherbet by allowing thawing a few minutes, then spooning onto individual serving dishes.
Serve as a palate cleanser between courses or as a light tangy dessert.
Makes 3-1/2 cups of sorbet.
David Hale from Morristown, Tennessee
Friend from the Single Circuit Sunday School Class, FUMC, Houston, Texas 1982