When you have a glut of fresh fruit, warm summer days and a little initiative, sorbets are the answer. This frozen delight is usually made with fruit and is almost always dairy and fat free; but the strictest definition is simply a syrup of sugar and water that’s churned and frozen — sometimes in an ice cream maker, but you can make it with a good stand mixer or food processor and time in the freezer.
To make a smooth and refreshing sorbet, you only need a basic template to follow and a little creativity. The golden rule of sorbet? Start with good fruit and don’t goof it up. But, if you do, no worries! Sorbet’s closest cousin is granita, a slushy, fruity confection which stops just short of a snow cone. And who doesn’t love a good snow cone in the summertime? When you feel the need to stick your face in the freezer every hour or so, granita is the way to go.
With ice cream, a combination of fat, protein and sugar all influence texture, but with sorbet, sugar is the star of the show. Sugar doesn’t just sweeten sorbet, it’s also responsible for the sorbet’s structure. When you dissolve sugar in water, you get a syrup with a lower freezing point than water alone, and the sweeter the syrup, the lower the freezing point becomes. As water starts to freeze in a syrup, the unfrozen water becomes, in effect, a more concentrated syrup. This process continues until you have a bunch of small ice crystals in a sea of syrup so concentrated that it’ll never really freeze.
You can test the sugar levels in a sorbet base with an “egg-float” test. Wash and dry a large egg. Gently lower the egg, still in its shell, into the sorbet base. Look for just a small nickel-sized round of shell to show above the liquid. This indicates that you have the perfect balance of juice and sugar. If you see less shell, stir in a little more sugar syrup. If you see more shell (quarter-sized), stir in a little water or fruit juice. Store leftover simple syrup in the refrigerator. You can use it for cocktails later, or as a sweetener for iced tea.
Sorbet recipes often call for alcohol, sometimes as little as a tablespoon, to improve texture. Alcohol reduces the mixture’s freezing point, thus making the sorbet softer and easier to scoop. And the more alcohol you add, the softer the sorbet gets, until you add so much that the mixture’s freezing point is literally too cold to freeze in a conventional freezer. (You start hovering around this danger zone when you use more than five tablespoons of 80 proof alcohol per quart.) Also, it’s important to note that alcohol-fortified sorbets are less stable, so they melt fast and have a tendency to re-freeze harder and icier than when they were first churned.
As a part of a healthy diet, sorbet is the clear winner over ice cream, although it’s a good bet that you’re not choosing your dessert for its health benefits. Most sorbet has zero fat, as opposed to ice cream — most of which has about five to seven fat grams per 2.5-ounce serving. Sorbet has about 80 calories per 2.5 ounces, compared to ice cream’s 140-150 calories. Sorbet has more sugar than ice cream, and less calcium, vitamin A, and iron; but sorbet is significantly higher in vitamin C (because it’s loaded with fruit).
How to Make Sorbet With Any Fruit
Makes eight servings (one quart).
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds fresh fruit (4-5 cups after prepping and slicing);
- 1 cup sugar;
- 1 cup water;
- 1 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice.
Directions:
If using an ice cream maker, freeze the machine’s freezer bowl for at least 24 hours before making the sorbet. Wash and dry the fruit. Cut away or remove any rinds, peels, pits, seeds, stems, or other non-edible parts of the fruit. Slice the fruit into bite-sized pieces. You should have around five cups of chopped fruit, though a little more or less is fine.
Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring gently once or twice. Simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved in the water, about five minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Combine the fruit and 1/2 cup of the cooled simple syrup in a blender, the bowl of a food processor, or in a mixing bowl with a hand blender. Reserve the remaining syrup. Blend the fruit and syrup until the fruit is completely liquefied and no more chunks remain.
If your fruit contains small seeds (like strawberries or raspberries), or is very fibrous (like mangos or pineapples), strain it through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the solids. Gently stir with a spoon as you strain, but don’t force the solids through the strainer.
Test the sugar levels with the egg-float test. Stir in one tablespoon of lemon juice. Taste the sorbet base and add more lemon juice if it tastes too sweet and bland. Cover the sorbet base and refrigerate until very cold, at least one hour or overnight.
Pour the chilled base into the bowl of an ice cream machine and churn. Continue churning until the sorbet is the consistency of a thick smoothie. Transfer the sorbet to freezable containers and cover. Freeze for at least four hours, until the sorbet has hardened. To serve, let the sorbet soften for a few minutes on the counter, then scoop into serving bowls.
Sorbet Variations
After simmering the simple syrup to dissolve the sugar, add any of the following to infuse the syrup while it cools — fresh herbs, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, cardamom, fresh ginger, lavender, or any other aromatic ingredient. To improve texture and for a pop of flavor, add one to three tablespoons of wine, beer, or other liquor along with the simple syrup when blending the fruit.
To add creaminess, blend 1/4 to 1/2 cup of any of the following along with the simple syrup when blending the fruit: coconut milk, heavy cream, evaporated milk, yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, or any other favorite creamy ingredient. (If you don’t mind adding fat calories.)
Without an Ice Cream Maker
If you have an ice cream machine, good for you! Just pour the mixture into the bowl and let the machine do all the work. If you don’t, pour the mixture onto a cookie sheet with raised sides and freeze until set. Then break up the frozen mixture and blend in the food processor until smooth. Freeze and blend again for an ultra-smooth consistency.
STRAWBERRY-BLACK PEPPER SORBET
Makes 12, 1/2-cup servings.
Ingredients:
• 1 cup sugar;
• 1 cup water;
• 2 tablespoons coarsely crushed black peppercorns;
• 6 cups sliced strawberries (about two pounds);
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.
Directions:
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Stir in peppercorns; let stand 20 minutes. Strain sugar syrup through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Place half of sugar syrup, half of sliced strawberries, and fresh lemon juice in a blender and process until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into a bowl. Repeat the procedure with remaining sugar syrup and sliced strawberries.
Pour mixture into the frozen base of an ice cream maker. Process according to manufacturer’s instructions. Spoon sorbet into a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze four hours or until firm. (You can also follow the instructions for processing the sorbet without an ice cream maker.)
PINEAPPLE SORBET
(Mango, melon, or a combination, works well in this recipe too.) Makes nine 1/2-cup servings.
Ingredients:
- 1 small pineapple, peeled, cored and cubed (5 cups of mango or melon, or a combination, are good substitutes);
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice;
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar;
- Mint sprigs for garnish.
Directions:
Cut fruit into two-inch cubes. Place fruit and lemon juice in a food processor; process until smooth. Add sugar; process one minute or until sugar dissolves. Pour mixture into the frozen bowl of an ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer’s instructions (or follow instructions for processing without an ice cream maker). Spoon sorbet into a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze one hour or until firm. Serve and garnish with mint sprigs.
SPIKED PEACH LIMEADE GRANITA
Makes about eight, 1-cup servings.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups water;
- 3 cups peach slices (about three medium peaches);
- 1 1/3 cups sugar;
- 6 mint leaves;
- 1 1/3 cups fresh lime juice;
- 3/4 cup rum;
- Extra peach slices;
- Fresh mint sprigs.
Directions:
Combine first four ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for five minutes. Cool and discard mint. Place half of peach mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Pour pureed peach mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Combine remaining peach mixture, juice and rum in a blender; process until smooth. Add to baking dish. Freeze eight hours, or until firm. Remove mixture from freezer; scrape entire mixture with a fork until fluffy. Scrape and stir until desired consistency is achieved. Garnish with peach slices and mint sprigs.
BASIL LIMONCELLO SORBET
Makes one quart.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, plus additional baby leaves for garnish;
- 1 1/2 cups sugar;
- 1 1/4 cups fresh lemon juice (from about eight lemons) plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest, plus additional zest for garnish;
- 1/2 cup corn syrup;
- 2 tablespoons limoncello;
- Pinch of salt.
Directions:
Place basil leaves in a medium bowl. Pour two cups of boiling water over the leaves and steep for at least 20 minutes. Remove basil leaves, squeezing them over the water to release all of the juices. Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set aside. Pour the basil water into a small saucepan, add the sugar and bring to a boil. When the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest, corn syrup, limoncello and salt. Transfer to a medium bowl and set in the bowl of ice water. Stir until cold. Pour the lemon mixture into an ice cream machine and churn according to he manufacturer’s directions, or follow instructions for processing without an ice cream machine. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and store in the freezer until firm, three to four hours. Scoop the sorbet into serving dishes and garnish with lemon zest and fresh baby basil leaves.
WATERMELON MOJITO GRANITA
Makes eight servings.
Ingredients:
- 6 cups watermelon cut into 1-inch cubes;
- 3/4 cup light rum (can substitute water for a non-alcoholic version);
- 2/3 cup lime juice (about eight limes);
- 1/2 cup sugar;
- 1/2 cup loosely packed mint leaves (about 10 large leaves).
Directions:
Place all ingredients into a large pot or bowl. Puree in a blender until smooth. Transfer pureed mixture into a 9x13-inch baking pan covered with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. Freeze for one hour. Using a spoon or fork, scrape the ice crystals that have formed around the edges of the pan and stir the mixture well. Return the pan to the freezer. Repeat the scraping and stirring process every hour until the mixture is slushy and frozen (usually 3-4 hours). Transfer granita to a freezer-safe container. Serve with a garnish of mint.