Cranberry Sherbet

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This is a recipe that has been in my family for years. We traditionally eat the sherbet with Thanksgiving dinner, not as a dessert. The recipe can be doubled or tripled if needed, but you will need much larger pots/bowls.

1 lb or 2 bags of fresh cranberries
2 cups warm water

1 package of gelatin
1/4 cup cold water

2 cups sugar

2 cups ginger ale

Combine the cranberries and water in a large pot, checking for sticks and shrubs. Bring to a boil and cook until all or most of the cranberries have split, they make a great popping sound.

Combine gelatin and water and set aside.

Mush cooked berries with a potato masher. Run the hot, mushed up cranberries through a fine strainer for a smooth consistency or a potato ricer for a chunkier consistency. The goal of this is to get out all of the skins and sticks, I like to run the mush through the ricer and then the fine strainer.

Add the sugar and stir until combined, then add the gelatin. Continue stirring until the sugar and gelatin have been dissolved and the liquid is no longer gritty.

Slowly add the ginger ale, stir to combine. WARNING: you will need a large bowl to do this step because the ginger ale will cause lots of foaming.

Freeze the liquid over night in a large, flat pan. We use a glass 9x13.

The next day take the frozen cranberry mixture and fluff it with a fork and then whip it until light and fluffy, we use the whip attachment on the Kitchenaid. Place frozen, whipped cranberry mixture into freezer safe containers and freeze until use.