Sherbet can be frozen in a bowl in the freezer of your refrigerator, then aerated with a food processor or electric mixer when it is semi-frozen, then refrozen. This won’t, of course, be as finely textured as sherbet made in an ice-cream machine, but it works. Fortunately, ice-cream machines now are widely available, and some are within the budget of mere mortals.
Cranberry Sherbet
Makes approximately one quart.
2 cups raw cranberries
1/2 cup superfine white sugar
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp. lemon or lime juice
2 "jumbo" egg whites
Wash berries and put them into a large shallow saucepan. Add the sugar and heat slowly until berries burst. Cook, stirring for five minutes, and grind coarsely in a food processor or grinder. Stir in condensed milk and citrus juice. Beat the egg whites until they form soft, glossy peaks, then fold them into the cranberry mixture.
Turn this into a shallow pan and put into freezer until it is frozen about one inch around the edges. Turn it out into a chilled bowl and whip it with a hand or electric beater. Turn it back into a chilled deep container and freeze until firm. If you have an ice?cream maker, follow the manufacturer's directions. For an especially Christmasy effect, serve in coupe glasses, and decorate each with a sprig of holly — not edible, so warn off any impetuous guests.
