I have been searching for a good strawberry sorbet. Many of the ones I have made previously have frozen very hard without a smooth texture. The trick is to get the right amount of sugar to water ratio. Strawberries are mostly water so it makes it even more challenging.

If you web search, you will find several articles recommending using a saccharometer to measure the sugar. Recently Fine Cooking (June/July 2014) had an article about floating an egg which also is mentioned in the previous link and in this article from Zoe Bakes.   I’ve also read several articles that mentioned using corn syrup or another type of inverted sugar to create the smooth texture.

I’ve tried floating the egg without much luck so I’m still in search for a good method. But I’ve used more corn syrup in my latest batch with good luck. It may be the secret.

I do not have a specific recipe but here are amounts that I used in my latest batch along with a couple of links for reference.

Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet

Simple Syrup

1 cup water
1 cup sugar

Combine water and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve sugar.  Pour into glass jar, cool and refrigerate.

Rhubarb puree:

2 stalks of rhubarb (about ½ to ¾ lb) ends trimmed and stalks split in the center and cut into ¾ pieces
¼ cup water
¼ cup sugar

Combine rhubarb, sugar and water in a pan and bring to boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the rhubarb easily falls apart.

Cool for 5-10 minutes. Puree in a blender until smooth. Press through a fine mesh strainer to remove pulp. Rinse blender and strainer with ¼ cup of simple syrup. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Strawberry puree:

1 pint ripe local strawberries, hull, quartered

Puree strawberries in blender. Press through a fine mesh strainer to remove seeds. Rinse blender and strainer with ¼ cup of simple syrup.

Prepare Sorbet:

Combine rhubarb and strawberry puree. Stir in ½ cup simple syrup and 2 TBS corn syrup. Cover and chill ~ 30 minutes. Stir in 2 TBS of St Germain or other liquor of your choice.

Process the puree mixture in ab ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The sorbet will be soft. Place in freezer for several hours for firmer texture.

Here are a few other links:

Rhubarb Sorbet from Simply Recipes
Rhubarb Strawberry Sorbet from Scoop Adventures
Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream and Sorbet from Savory Simple