Concord grape sorbet recipe

Concord grapes, developed by Ephriam Bell of Concord, Massachusetts, are most popularly used in making grape juice and grape jelly. We were pleasantly surprised to find out they make a delicious dessert, too. When the summer heat gets out of hand, try this refreshing sorbet for a new and exciting treat.

CONCORD GRAPE SORBET
Ingredients

• 2.5 pounds concord grapes (measured after stems removed)
• ¼-½ cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (probably one large lemon)

Directions

Clean the grapes and remove the stems. Boil ¼-½ cup of water in a large pan. Add the grapes, cover and simmer them in the hot water until the grapes get soft. By this point, the smell of grape juice will entice you back to the kitchen. Give the grapes a stir a few times to loosen the skins. The whole process should take about 20 minutes. Pour the grape concoction into a fine-mesh sieve in batches, and push juice out into a bowl beneath, leaving any stems and seeds behind. Use a wooden spoon and press out as much juice as I could. You’ll end up with about 2.5 cups of pure grape juice. Add the sugar, vodka, and lemon juice to the grape juice and whir a few times with an immersion blender or in a bullet blender to dissolve the sugar. You’ll use the immersion blender again later. (You can leave out the vodka for a virgin sorbet and add in extra water or juice.) Pour the grape mix into a bowl, cake pan, or whatever you want and pop it into the freezer. The flatter the container, the quicker the sorbet will freeze. The more alcohol, the slower the sorbet will freeze. After about 2 hours, check on the sorbet. It should be about half frozen. Use the immersion blender to break up any icy bits. Return the sorbet to the freezer and repeat this every hour or so. If you forget and throw the sorbet in the freezer overnight, no problem – it will just take a few extra whirs with the blender to break up the solid mass the next morning.