bowls (and bowls) of cherries and a sorbet … Sour Cherry Sorbet

I love sour cherries.  Seriously, next to fresh peaches they are the best thing on earth.  You have to move quickly – they’re only around in farmers markets for about 2-3 weeks in mid-late July.  For some reason, I’ve never seen them in a conventional market and all those recipes you see for frozen cherries?  Where are magazine editors finding those, I wonder?  So every year, about this time, I hustle over to the Green City Market and my favorite farmer, Pete Klein of Seedling, who always hooks me up with a case.

Now let me tell you, a case is ALOT of cherries for the home kitchen.  8 quarts.  A boatload.  Somehow, every year I manage to forget this.  Maybe it’s the excitement of seeing them in the market that just makes me stupid and forgetful of years past.  Whatever.

This year, I purchased two varieties – bright red Montmorency and the darker Baleton – the combination of which has made the best jams in the past.  I proudly carried my large box of beauties to the car, willing passerby’s to look, admire and be jealous.  They are rather stunning you know and I am a bit of a market geek.  When I got home, I dumped them in the sink for a quick rinse then turned on the radio – Saturday morning NPR – and set about pitting them.  Why do I always forget how damn tedious this part is?  Pete sells them pitted by the bucket but noooooo … I have to do it myself.  By my estimates, to pit a case of cherries by hand by yourself =  1/2 of “Car Talk”, all of “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” and a portion of “Sound Opinions.”  That’s 1 hour and 45 minutes, for your information.  And I hadn’t yet cooked a damn thing.

So after a quick restorative cocktail and by the time “This American Life” came on at noon, I had a MASSIVE bowl of pitted cherries; enough to make a double batch of jam (fifteen 1/2 pints jars), a batch of sorbet (so good!) and three 1/2 pints of brandied cherries for some rockin’ Manhattans.  I still had a bunch leftover that I just couldn’t deal with so I froze them for later when I get the strength to make a pie or tart.  I also had a big bowl of pits which I usually toss but think I might use to try this.  Note to self:  next year, don’t buy so many damn cherries.  Sure.

By far, the easiest thing to make is a sorbet.  Mix, puree, strain, chill, freeze.  Five simple steps for the best thing you’ve ever tasted.  This sorbet is the pure essence of sour cherry flavor – intense, a little tart, a little sweet, lovely color – and is so simple I always try to make a batch pronto.  It also works pretty well with frozen cherries, which is a good use someday for that stash in my back freezer.  The recipe is originally from Claudia Fleming, a magnificent pastry chef if there ever was one with a damn good book.  I’ve tweaked it just a bit over the years- why mess too much with perfection? – adding a bit of kirsch to enhance the cherry flavor and keep it soft in the freezer.

Now then, because sorbet is such a simple thing, there’s always something that will make it overly complicated.  With many sorbets, there’s a need to balance the sugar to fruit ratio for proper freezing/texture and since the sugar (or brix) content varies from fruit to fruit and crop to crop, there are certain techniques that professionals use to achieve this balance.  Many use a refractometer.  According to pastry chef Jacques Torres, “A refractometer works by measuring light as it is reflected off the sugar crystals contained in the sorbet mix. The fruit juice and simple syrup combination should balance to a measure of 24 to 26 degrees Brix on the refractometer.”  That said I sure don’t have a refractometer.  Do you?

So what to do?  Well first off, this recipe is constructed to work so no worries but should you become fired up to make your own sorbet recipes, you can use this easy little trick.  Fill a glass that’s at least 6″ deep with your unfrozen sorbet mixture. Carefully drop a raw egg into the mixture.  If the sugar content is sufficient, the egg will bob to the top and leave a quarter sized portion of the shell poking through the sorbet solution.  If the egg sinks, add more simple syrup and try again.  Nifty, huh?

SOUR CHERRY SORBET – Adapted from The Last Course: The Desserts of Grammercy Tavern by Claudia Fleming
Makes 1 quart
The ascorbic acid, though not necessary, will keep the sorbet a bright deep red and prevent the cherries from oxidizing and turning brown.  It’s easily found in a pharmacy or a health food store but can be skipped.  Simple syrup is easily made by combining 2 cups sugar to 1 ¾ cups water, heated until sugar is dissolved.  You’ll have leftover syrup – use it to sweeten ice tea or steep a bunch of ginger in it to make flavored syrup for homemade ginger ale – just mix with sparkling water.  Delicious!

3 cups pitted sour cherries ( 1 ½ pounds)
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon kirsch (cherry brandy)
2/3 cup simple syrup
1/8 teaspoon ascorbic acid

1. Combine the cherries, 2 Tablespoons of sugar and kirsch; let macerate for 30 minutes until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Add the simple syrup and asorbic acid and stir to combine.
3. In a food processor or blender, puree the mixture.  Note:  if using a food processor, there is a chance the liquid will leak out of the workbowl (mine did.)  Try to puree just the cherry solids or do in smaller batches.
4. Strain the mixture into a bowl and discard the solids.
5. Chill until cold – at least two hours or overnight.
6. Process in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
7. Transfer sorbet to a freezer container and freeze for at least one hour.  Sorbet will keep for a week or two but is best eaten within a few days.