Nevada City Blackberry Sorbet

This Christmas a bunch of us got ice cream makers in our gift exchange, and we were among the lucky recipients. We've been busy with it, and this weekend we filled it with a little piece of Nevada City: blackberries we picked in Nevada County this summer. Blackberries that Alan froze, packed in dry ice, and drove to San Diego. Eleven gallons of them have been sitting in our freezer, and Alan is finally getting comfortable with the idea of using them. This sorbet was phenomenal, and given the ingredients and the most popular Christmas gift in the family this year, I thought it was appropriate to post the recipe.

Blackberry Lemon Sorbet
5-6 cups frozen blackberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup milk (optional)

combine the sugar and the water in a saucepan and boil until the sugar has completely dissolved. Pour it into a cool bowl and let it chill until it's room temperature (put the bowl in a larger bowl of cold water or ice to speed things up). Add the syrup to the blackberries, add the milk if you want it a little bit creamier, and blend on high until it's smooth. Pour the mixture through a wire mesh strainer to remove the seeds (you don't have to do this if you don't have a strainer, but it's much better without the seeds). Squeeze in the lemon juice, mix it up, and put it in the ice cream maker. It will set pretty fast if the blackberries were frozen initially. I finished mine off with some fresh mint, which was extra yummy. Enjoy!