This sorbet recipe is taken from Agnes B. Marshall’s “Book of Ices” first published in 1885.
Agnes was a pioneer of ice-cream making, inventing a hand-cranked machine that uses the same technology as today’s ice-cream makers.
In her view a sorbet needed a touch of alcohol – otherwise it was simply an “iced water”.
• Agnes B Marshall, ice-cream pioneer
Pork Belly celebrated the anniversary of her birth on 24th August by recreating one of her classic fruit ices, with a few modern additions (and yes he did use a modern ice-cream-maker!)


Sorbet of raspberries
A recipe from 1885 for delicious sorbet
Ingredients
- 1 lb 450g raspberries
- 3/4 cup 175g caster sugar
- red food colouring
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 1/2 cups 570ml water
- 2 tablespoons of limoncello . Agnes recommends Curacao rum or brandy
- A few extra raspberries tossed in caster sugar and a little more limoncello or other alcohol.
Instructions
- Take the raspberries and add the caster sugar, red food colouring and the lemon juice and pass them through a “tammy”. (This is usually a muslin cloth, but we used a fine sieve.)
- Add the water and partly freeze.
- Then add the limoncello (or other alcohol of your choice).
- Continue the freezing.
- Serve in glass cups or glasses.with the fresh raspberries which have been tossed in sugar and limoncello.
Other recipes you may like:
• Swiss Toffee
• Devil’s food muffins
• Cherry & kirsch ice-cream