Blackberry Sherbet - A Three Ingredient Wonder

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite... Is it ice cream, gelato, sherbet or sorbet? There're a lot of names for frozen desserts, but do you know the difference between them? Here are the basics. Ice cream is a frozen mixture of cream, milk, flavorings and sweeteners. Air is introduced to the mixture during the whipping process and up to 60% of its volume is air that will give it a light and fluffy texture. Ice creams are divided into categories depending on how much butterfat they contain. A premium ice cream has an 11% to 15% butterfat content. Regular ice cream contains 10% to 11% butterfat. A light ice cream contains 50% less fat or 33% fewer calories than the regular ice cream. Gelato is Italian style ice cream. It differs from American ice cream in the amount of air that is beaten into it during the whipping product. Gelato contains less air than it's American counterpart (20% air for gelato and up to 60% air for ice cream). As a result it is denser and more intensely flavored than ice cream. Sorbet is made from fruit purée that is whipped and frozen and can include additional herbs and flavorings. It contains no milk or cream. Sherbet is a fruit based ice that has milk added for creaminess, but, by law, it can contain no more than 2% butterfat. Today's recipe is a sherbet that's made from a blackberry purée and buttermilk. This cream has an intense berry flavor. While it breaks my heart to say this, this sherbet is really not for children unless they are outdoors and wearing swim suits. It melts quickly and it will stain. The sherbet uses just 3 ingredients and can be made without an ice cream freezer as long as it is kept very cold. The recipe comes from Taste of Home magazine.

Blackberry Sherbet...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh or thawed frozen blackberries
1 to 2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups low-fat buttermilk

Directions:
1) Place berries in bowl of a food processor; cover and process until smooth. Add 1 to 2 cups sugar (dependent on your sugar quotient) to puree and process until well combined. Strain mixture, discarding seeds and pulp. Stir in buttermilk. Transfer to a 9 x 13-inch dish. Freeze until edges of mixture begin to firm, about 2 hours. Stir and return to freezer. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours longer.
2) Just before serving, scrape mixture into bowl of a food processor; cover and process until smooth. Scrape mixture into 8 (6-oz.) bowls and serve. Alternatively, return to 9 x 13-inch pan and freeze again. Scoop into bowls with an ice cream scoop. Yield: 8 servings.