Mulberry-Ginger Sorbet
I have decided that when life gives me mulberries, I will make sorbet. And oh, has life given me mulberries. When I first moved into this house five years ago, I actually didn’t even notice there were mulberry trees.
But, there’s mulberry trees in the yard, along the side fence! At first, we only noticed two or three trees, but I actually think there are quite a few more (they’ve kind of all grown together in a jumble, so it’s hard to really tell).
Pretty much our whole fence is lined with mulberry trees. Which I think is why so many people consider them a nuisance – they keep propagating and making more trees, and apparently they are very hard to get rid of.
Well, I don’t really mind them at all. They’re in a part of the yard where we don’t really walk or spend much time, and as long as we wipe the dog’s paws before she comes inside, it’s all good.
Now, if you’ve never tasted a mulberry, and you asked me to describe it for you, I would probably say “like a blackberry, but not as good.” The flavor is somewhat dull, and very low in acid and tartness. They are, however, incredibly juicy.
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Oh, and they’re FREE FRUIT, just growing in my yard. I hate to watch all of the berries just drop to the ground, or errrrr….into the air conditioner.
As far as harvesting the berries, last year I picked them by hand, standing on a ladder. That took a long time, but it ensured all of the berries I chose were the perfect ripeness and not blemished (since there are so many to choose from, why not be a little selective?).
I made a pie with those berries, but the recipe I followed steered me wrong on the amount of sugar to add, and the pie was just way, way too sweet.
This year, I decided to take a different approach to harvesting – laying an old sheet under the trees, and shaking the branches. Well, this was super fast on the front end. But when I got the berries inside, I realized they would need to be sorted.
Along with the perfectly ripe ones, I also had underripe berries, way overripe berries, leaves, twigs, and assorted insects (yeah, not for the faint of heart) mixed into the pile. The sorting process on the back end ate up any of the time saved on the front end. So, either way you do it, prepare to invest some time in harvesting your berries.
Because I think that mulberries have a sort of dull flavor, I jazzed up this sorbet with some grated fresh ginger as well as some raspberry liqueur that I had around. These two additions really helped punch up the muted flavor of the mulberries. An added bonus? I didn’t need to buy a single thing to make this – I had it all on hand. When life gives you mulberries, you make FREE dessert!
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Mulberry-Ginger Sorbet
Ingredients
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 4 cups mulberries I didn’t bother to remove the green stems, since I strained the pureed berries later
- 2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring sugar, water and ginger to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let syrup stand 10 minutes.
- Place berries in blender and pour syrup over berries. Blend until smooth.
- Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer set over medium bowl, keeping only the liquid. Discard all solids. Stir liqueur into liquid; refrigerate at least 2 hours.
- Pour liquid into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s directions for sorbet.
To harvest my mulberries i put a very large sheet ( not a fitted one) on the ground underneath the tree and shake the heck out of the branches over the sheet. I got more mulberries than i have ever gotten. You can put the sheet in different areas under your tree. It is trully amazing how many berries fall into the sheet. Libby
That’s a great idea, Elizabeth! Thank you!
OK! THANKS!!
Thanks! I watched the video and what does it mean by 0 degrees. Do I have to put my freezer to 0 degrees temperature? It does this just mean you can put the pan in the freezer over night and it will be fine.
I just put mine in my regular freezer! I usually give it two days to make sure it’s really frozen 🙂
Does anyone have a recommendation for a good icecream maker?
Thanks,
Veronica
Hi Veronica. I have this one right here, and I’ve been really happy with it: http://amzn.to/29P3n7s
where did you find that glass!? I have a mild flamingo obsession lol
Hi Nikki! I got that at IKEA last summer 🙂
Right – I think no matter how you harvest the berries, it’s just time-consuming 🙁 I haven’t tried a berry picker on a stick, because the berries on my tree are VERY fragile when ripe. Even my fingers crush them sometimes!
Limoncello sounds GREAT for this recipe, yum!!
I am still in search of the perfect mulberry picking method. Our tree was untended for who knows how long, at least 10 years. It would take 6 or more sheets to lay on the ground and it was a painstakingly long process when I tried. Currently thinking about a berry picker on a stick, too much slope for a ladder. Can’t wait to try your recipe with some frozen berries I already have and lemoncello (what I have on hand). I just ate a huge bowl of blueberry banana sorbet or else I’d make it now.
I am still in search of the perfect mulberry picking method. Our tree was untended for who knows how long, at least 10 years. It would take 6 or more sheets to lay on the ground and it was a painstakingly long process when I tried. Currently thinking about a berry picker on a stick, too much slope for a ladder. Can’t wait to try your recipe with some frozen berries I already have and lemoncello (what I have on hand). I just ate a huge bowl of blueberry banana sorbet or else I’d make it now.
Right – I think no matter how you harvest the berries, it’s just time-consuming 🙁 I haven’t tried a berry picker on a stick, because the berries on my tree are VERY fragile when ripe. Even my fingers crush them sometimes!
Limoncello sounds GREAT for this recipe, yum!! Also – check back on Monday (July 15th) – I’m posting about a mulberry crumble I made 🙂
Thanks Stacy! I wish I had a cherry tree too, that sounds glorious! Love the liqueur idea – how fun!
When we lived in Paris for three years, we had a gorgeous cherry tree in the backyard. Free fruit is the best! I always felt so virtuous making jam and pie and even just eating them off the tree. We also made cherry bounce – a liqueur of sorts. I love your sorbet and that deep purple color! I can taste it now!
When we lived in Paris for three years, we had a gorgeous cherry tree in the backyard. Free fruit is the best! I always felt so virtuous making jam and pie and even just eating them off the tree. We also made cherry bounce – a liqueur of sorts. I love your sorbet and that deep purple color! I can taste it now!
Thanks Stacy! I wish I had a cherry tree too, that sounds glorious! Love the liqueur idea – how fun!
The sorbet was delicious. My only complaint would be that this year’s harvesting method resulted in my hands becoming stained purple from picking through the berries. Apart from that, it was actually kind of fun shaking the tree, straining the berries, and eating the fruits of our labors (pun completely intended).
The sorbet was delicious. My only complaint would be that this year’s harvesting method resulted in my hands becoming stained purple from picking through the berries. Apart from that, it was actually kind of fun shaking the tree, straining the berries, and eating the fruits of our labors (pun completely intended).
Thanks Jane! I really hope you get some fruit next year. It’s important to keep the bushes/trees watered. For years, I didn’t really do any “maintenance” on them, if that makes sense. Like, didn’t water them beyond what Mother Nature gave them. But a few years ago, we had a really dry spring, and I didn’t get any fruit. It was a total bummer!
In love! I’m totally waiting for my mulberry bushes to give me fruit. I’m thinking that they’ll be mature enough next year. Fingers crossed.
In love! I’m totally waiting for my mulberry bushes to give me fruit. I’m thinking that they’ll be mature enough next year. Fingers crossed.
Thanks Jane! I really hope you get some fruit next year. It’s important to keep the bushes/trees watered. For years, I didn’t really do any “maintenance” on them, if that makes sense. Like, didn’t water them beyond what Mother Nature gave them. But a few years ago, we had a really dry spring, and I didn’t get any fruit. It was a total bummer!