spiced plum vermouth 'almost a cocktail' sorbet

• 24 hours before, place your ice cream/sorbet churner in the freezer
• wash & dry plums, cut in quarters, reserve pits for later, place in a deep pan, toss with lemon juice and sugar and salt and let sit for 1 hour or more to release their juices
• place the pits, the sliced empty lemon peels, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg inside a cheesecloth (or gauze) wrap up tightly and tie with some string (or if you prefer, just place loosely in a small pot and you’ll strain it all later)
• at medium-high heat, heat up the vermouth in a small pot with the tied bundle (or loose ingredients that will be strained later) of spices, pits, lemon slices until it starts simmering, then lower immediately to medium heat and let simmer for 7-8 minutes, then turn off and allow to slowly cool down (it will reduce to about 180 ml or ¾ cup)
• in the large pan, simmer the sliced plums and juices at medium heat for only 2-3 minutes to slightly break down the fruit, remove from heat, add the warm spiced vermouth liquid (squeeze out everything from the tied bundle and/or strain) to the cooked fruits, add the corn syrup or honey, the wine (and some more sugar if the fruits were not sweet enough) and let cool down
• use a blender to purée everything into a smooth liquid, (if it seems too ‘jammy’ or ‘thickened’ slowly add the extra water and keep blending until it seems closer to the consistency of a thick fruit sauce or ‘coulis’
• when cool, transfer to an air-tight container and reserve in the refrigerator until chilled (6 hours or preferably overnight)
• re-whisk the chilled mixture and churn for 45 minutes until well set and firmer and reserve in an air-tight container in the freezer for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight

note : if you don’t have a churner, then freeze the sorbet in the container and whisk/grate by hand every 45-60 minutes to break up the ice (repeat 3-4 times).

• serve scoops when firm (there’s no need to let the sorbet slightly soften at room temperature because the high alcohol content keeps it from freezing into a solid icy block).