Sorbet Two Ways
Hands-on time:
10 mins. to 15 mins.
Total time:
40 mins. to 5 hrs
Yield:
about 1 quart sorbet
- 1
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 3/4 about 3 3/4 cups prepared fruit
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon, lime, or orange juice
Preparation
Step 1
1) Combine the water and sugar in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes, without stirring. Remove the syrup from the heat, pour it into a bowl, and set in the refrigerator to cool.
2) When the syrup is cool, select your fruit. For apple-pear-kiwi sorbet (pictured), use about 2 large Granny Smith apples; 1 large, ripe pear; and 2 to 3 ripe kiwi fruits. For peach (also pictured above), use 1 pound peeled, sliced peaches; plain frozen are fine, but avoid frozen in syrup. Or try 1 pound of frozen raspberries (plain, not in syrup).
2) If you're making apple/pear/kiwi sorbet, peel the fruit, slice it, and microwave it till soft. Peel the kiwis, and cut them into chunks, if necessary.
4) Place the fruit in the work bowl of a food processor. Process until fairly smooth, but not pur.
5) Add the syrup and lemon juice, and pulse briefly, just to combine.
6) Chill for 1 hour, or until refrigerator-cold. Overnight is fine.
7) To make the sorbet in an ice cream maker: Pour the fruit mixture into the bowl of the ice cream maker, and proceed according to the manufacturer's directions. Serve immediately, or "ripen" it for a couple of hours in the freezer to firm it up, if desired.
8) To make the sorbet in the freezer: Place the mixture in a shallow pan; an 8" x 8" square pan or 9" round cake pan are both good choices. Place the pan in the freezer. There's no need to cover it.
9) After 2 hours, use a fork or spoon to stir the slushy mixture around, bringing the frozen edges into the center. Return to the freezer.
10) Continue to stir every hour or so, until the sorbet is nearly as firm as you like. This may be as little as 4 hours total, start to finish; or it may take longer, depending on the temperature of your freezer.
11) When the sorbet is uniformly icy (like a fairly solid slush drink), you can purit in a food processor or using a hand blender, if you like; this will make a "creamier" sorbet. Place in a bowl, cover, and return to the freezer.
12) Sorbet should be ready to serve about 4 to 6 hours after you first put it into the freezer. Waiting a couple of hours beyond that will solidify it beyond scoopable. To serve beyond that window, allow sorbet to soften slightly at room temperature; this will only take about 10 minutes. Scoop into dishes and serve.