Turkish Dut Serbeti: Chilled Mulberry Sherbet with Lemon and Clove

Rinse the mulberries gently in a bowl of cool water rather than under a running tap; they bruise and bleed at the slightest pressure.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 4 cups (about 1 lb / 450 g) fresh black mulberries, or blackberries if mulberries are out of reach
• 4 cups water
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, adjusted to the sweetness of the fruit
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 strips lemon zest
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp rose water (optional)
• Ice, for serving
• Fresh berries and thin lemon slices, to garnish

Instructions

1. Rinse the mulberries gently in a bowl of cool water rather than under a running tap; they bruise and bleed at the slightest pressure.
2. Combine the berries, water, sugar, cloves, cinnamon stick and lemon zest in a saucepan and bring slowly to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
3. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 12 to 15 minutes. The liquid will turn a deep ink-purple and the berries will slump and pale as they give up their color.
4. Take the pan off the heat, cover, and let the sherbet steep for 30 minutes. This resting period, not the simmering, is where the clove and cinnamon do their work.
5. Strain through a fine sieve set over a bowl, pressing lightly on the fruit. Resist crushing it hard, which pushes bitter pulp through and clouds the drink.
6. Stir in the lemon juice and the rose water if using, then taste. Serbet should land firmly on the tart side of refreshing; add lemon by the teaspoon until it does.
7. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. It thickens very slightly and the spice comes forward considerably as it cools.
8. Serve over plenty of ice in tall glasses, garnished with a few whole berries and a slice of lemon. It keeps for five days refrigerated.
9. Serbet is the ancestor of the word sherbet and, at a longer remove, of sorbet, and in Ottoman kitchens it was a whole category of drink rather than a single recipe, spiced and fruited differently through the seasons. Mulberry versions belong to high summer, when the trees that shade courtyards across Anatolia drop more fruit than anyone can eat and children are sent out with sheets to catch it. If you have no mulberry tree nearby, blackberries give you nearly the same color and a comparable tartness, and the clove and cinnamon carry the rest of the character.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 120 kcal
• Protein: 1g
• Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 30g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 27g
• Sodium: 5mg