blueberry sorbet with riesling & rosemary

A couple of years ago, I had great luck making a cherry buttermilk sherbet. The only ice cream maker I had at the time was a large and clunky (but beautiful) turquoise vintage hand-crank one. I didn’t pull it out of our storeroom and instead just froze it and whisked it a bit and as luck would have it, it was a tasty success. But now I’ve got an electric ice cream maker and it’s so easy to try out crazy flavour combinations on a whim. So far I’ve had great luck with Mexican chocolate ice cream, coconut cherry chocolate frozen yogurt and bourbon buttermilk ice cream. So when the BC Blueberry Council came a-knocking at my door with containers of fresh, local BC blueberries I figured I’d try my hand at another wacky but elegant flavour combination. Thanks BC Blueberries!

fresh bc blueberries

The previous evening we had cracked open a bottle of riesling and we had a bit left in the bottle so I figured I’d add it to the mix. The rosemary came about because the rosemary growing on our balcony was looking full and lush so I plucked off a stem and got to work. I whipped up a quick sugar syrup and added in the rosemary to infuse for a couple of hours. This recipe doesn’t use up all the rosemary syrup, so go ahead and use it in a cocktail – I think this would be perfect in a Pimm’s Cup or blackberry smash (here’s a recipe for something similar).

straining & blending

The fresh blueberries get blended along with the rosemary syrup and the white wine. I chose to strain out the blueberry skins for a smoother texture, but that’s up to you, but I like the strained version much better. The mixture then heads to the fridge for a bit of a chill before churning. I liked this best right out of the machine – it’s soft and smooth and it gets a little sloppy in the best way. But you might want to give it an hour or two in the freezer to firm up a bit. So how did it taste? Pretty wonderful and quite elegant. The rosemary is subtle but definitely there – if you want a stronger flavour, let the sugar syrup infuse longer. The riesling is quite nice with the blueberries and I’m sure a chardonnay would be lovely too. Just use a nice wine, one you’d use for drinking.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, don’t fret! This makes perfectly elegant popsicles for the grown-up set (just skip the cool-down stage). And you can make sorbet by freezing the mixture in a metal tray and giving it a whisk every now and then until it gets to the texture you like best.

ready to scoop

elsewhere: Check out this summery Sweet Pepper & Cauliflower salad recipe over at Poppytalk. The recipe is adapted from David Tanis so you know it’s delicious.

22 comments to “blueberry sorbet with riesling & rosemary”

  1. 1
    tracy   August 21, 2011 at 7:45 pm

    this looks SOOOOO good. I’d love to put a scoop in a mug of gin!

  2. 2
    Kasey   August 21, 2011 at 9:00 pm

    I don’t normally think of rosemary and blueberries as being a perfect combination but WOW. The more I think about it, the more it TOTALLY makes sense. I love your yellow ice cream scoop, btw 🙂

  3. 3
    Robert   August 21, 2011 at 11:12 pm

    Very nice color! I recently used blueberries as a raw puree and noticed that the upper layer turns brown. Adding some lemon juice didn’t help either. Did you experience something similar? Maybe the Riesling was a better choice 😉
    Since then I’m rather cooking my blueberries, they get a lot more beautiful color, because the color is mostly in the skin and gets released better by heat – and it doesn’t turn brown.

  4. 4
    kickpleat   August 21, 2011 at 11:17 pm

    Thanks Tracy! Yes, this would be over the top indulgently awesome with gin! Nutso!!

    Kasey, I wasn’t sure either, but it works nicely! I love my scoop too, thanks 🙂

    Hi Robert, no, my puree stayed purple through and through – from the pureering & cooling stage to frozen. No brown issues whatsoever.

  5. 5
    Lucy @ Lucyeats   August 22, 2011 at 1:27 am

    Wow that looks delicious! I’m going to use this to convince my boyfriend that we need an ice cream maker!

  6. 6
    Naomi Rose   August 22, 2011 at 3:15 am

    omgggggg Jeannette! This. is. IT.

  7. 7
    Joanne   August 22, 2011 at 3:26 am

    I’ve become quite enamored with the idea of mixing herbs into ice cream and adding a fruity flavor to go along with it makes it all the more fabulous! Great use of the blueberries!

  8. 8
    snarkapuss   August 22, 2011 at 3:45 am

    Next you should try lemon-lime-lavender sorbet — uses the same principle, with lavender buds added to the simple syrup and strained out. so, so refreshing and delicious.

  9. 9
    cecilia g   August 22, 2011 at 4:24 am

    That rosemary in there is the magic! Rosemary is my favourite cannot do without herb. We will have to do the popsicles which will not be a hardship, i think!! thank you c

  10. 10
    CookiePie   August 22, 2011 at 11:26 am

    Yum, yum and yum! Beautiful, and what a fabulous flavor combo!!!

  11. 11
    Joy   August 22, 2011 at 1:16 pm

    We just finished our last scoop of homemade blueberry gelato, and I’m sitting here asking why we didn’t think of adding rosemary. Or wine. Tsk, tsk. I can just smell and taste this! What a lovely combination. 🙂

  12. 12
    kickpleat   August 22, 2011 at 1:44 pm

    Lucy, if you don’t get the ice cream maker, don’t get discouraged – you can easily make it without one!

    Aw thanks Naomi!

    Joanne, it’s a surprisingly good combo!

    Mmm, sounds delicious Snarkapuss – I love a good lemon-lavender drink, so I’m sure I’d love it in sorbet form too.

    Glad you approve, Cecilia!

    Thanks CookiePie, the colour is fabulous and the taste is right up there too 🙂

    Joy, I really wanted to try my hand with adding grapefruit juice, but I think this makes up for it! Hooray for bc blueberries!

  13. 13
    Lulu   August 22, 2011 at 10:00 pm

    Blueberries + rosemary = perfection! I can’t wait to try this — it looks beautiful! Cheers =)

  14. 14
    Blanka   August 22, 2011 at 11:48 pm

    It looks wonderful!
    Perfect for summer party… I think it would surprise all invited friends:)

    Thank you for the recipe… It means that summer isn’t gone yet when there are still so love sorbet recipes!

  15. 15
    Bijoux   August 23, 2011 at 6:47 am

    This looks luscious! I love the vibrant colour and the rosemary addition. I have to admit, I haven’t used my ice cream maker once this summer. I guess it’s still not too late.

  16. 16
    Bijoux   August 23, 2011 at 6:48 am

    p.s. What would you call this ice cream if you were to give it an ice cream parlour name? Blueberry Hill? Rosemary’s Bluebaby? LOL!

  17. 17
    Robert   August 23, 2011 at 8:44 am

    Thanks for the reply. Hm, then it must be the air over here in Germany 😉

  18. 18
    kickpleat   August 23, 2011 at 11:28 am

    Lulu, thanks! It was a successful experiment.

    Blanka, indeed – we must prolong summer as much as possible!

    The colour is so gorgeous, Bijoux and it’s never too late to make icy treats. Especially when fruit are in abundance. And Rosemary’s Bluebaby?? Too funny!!

    Robert, I have no idea since I’ve never pureed blueberries before this week & it worked out for me. Maybe it was the wine!

  19. 19
    Ashley   September 9, 2011 at 12:05 am

    I love how you elevated this blueberry sorbet with Riesling and rosemary! It sounds delicious.

  20. 20
    kickpleat   September 12, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    Thanks Ashley, it’s quite refreshing too 🙂

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