Good Sorbet recipes?

Posted by: Maryloo
Date: October 8, 2007 12:48AM

I always thought Sorbets were "icy and clear " in texture(refreshing!) but last night at a wedding what i thought i ordered as sorbet looked and tasted like chocolate ice-cream. Have just looked up sorbets recipes on the web and all the recipes I saw talk of "icecream" and using icecream makers.
Does anyone here make Sorbet of any type and which is the best, easiest, tastiest & healthiest(?)
I have looked in the recipe section on this forum and there are only 2 sorbet recipes, so what I am wanting to know is do you have to stick to a particular recipe or is the fruit "transferable" (ie can you use any fruit you prefer or does that affect the final product?) or does anyone have any tried and true recipes for Sorbets. What are the best fruits/flavours to use? I am thinking I'd like mango or lemon?
Does it have to be eaten quite soon or does it keep like icecream in the freezer?Is it difficult to make?
With summer coming up I am interested in giving this a go.
I look forward to any advice or info anyone has to offer. Many thanks



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 08/10/07 01:18AM by Maryloo.

Re: Good Sorbet recipes?
Posted by: Gaylene
Date: October 9, 2007 05:25AM

Have a look in Sophie Gray's latest book "Enjoy" She has a recipe for Lemon Sorbet which looks interesting and easy to make

Re: Good Sorbet recipes?
Posted by: Jennifer1
Date: August 8, 2008 11:29PM

Not quite the weather for it, but I have a complicated, time-consuming blueberry sorbet recipe which requires heating and blending and refrigerating for hours and churning in an icecream maker and the addition of egg whites and freezing overnight and......so I worked my usual abomination of simplicity into it and I enjoy the following whenever I feel like a blueberry taste sensation hit:

¼ cup sugar
2 tbspns water
two pinches of salt
1½ cups of frozen blueberries
1 tbspn lemon juice

Put all into a food processor/blender and process until smooth. Put into your prettiest little eating bowl/s and eat immediately, using your prettiest wee spoon/s, while still chilled.

Admittedly, it might be stretching to call it a sorbet but......
It's also quite tangy.

Re: Good Sorbet recipes?
Posted by: Maryloo
Date: August 9, 2008 12:04AM

Not having an icream maker ( and not wanting another gadget that would be hardly used to clutter my cupboards) it seems its not that straight forward or as simple as I thought.:-(



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 09/08/08 12:04AM by Maryloo.

Re: Good Sorbet recipes?
Posted by: Jennifer1
Date: August 9, 2008 02:21AM

Maryloo, I've got a bunch of sorbet recipes that I haven't tried yet but the beauty of them is that none of them require an icecream maker. Instead they say things like:

"Pour the mixture into a freezer container and freeze for 3 hours, until softly set. Remove from the container and chop roughly into 7.5cm pieces. Place in a food processor and process until smooth. Return the mixture to the freezer container and freeze again until set. Repeat this freezing and chopping process two or three times, until a smooth consistency is obtained. Transfer the sorbet to the refrigerator about 20-30 minutes before serving to soften slightly."

Others are simpler again - "freeze until slushy. Beat the mixture, then freeze again. Repeat this beating process one more time, then cover the container and freeze until firm. Remove the sorbet from the freezer 10-15 minutes before serving, to allow it to soften slightly."

All of them, after giving these type of instructions, say "Alternatively, use an ice cream maker."

Some of them, like my original blueberry one, use whisked egg whites to assist with the texture.

But mostly, the procedure is to freeze, chop, freeze, chop, several times. We can do it Maryloo!

Re: Good Sorbet recipes?
Posted by: Maryloo
Date: August 9, 2008 04:11AM

Ooo! sounds promising J1
Do you think they would be creamy-ish or more icy/slushy-ish.
I dont mind either really.
I though sorbets were meant to be "mouth fresheners" of a sort.
I guess the "icy-ish" ones are more summery and the creamier ones are more dessert-y. Am I thinking along the right lines here?
If you are able to write down, or PM me a couple of recipes to practice on sometime, I'd be grateful Jenifer1. The creamyish chocolate one I had with a lemon tart for dessert at a wedding awhile back was beautiful.

Re: Good Sorbet recipes?
Posted by: Sally
Date: August 9, 2008 05:19AM

Last summer( remember that one!!) we had a bit of a sorbet fetish and these were our favourites- just one word for them... yummmmmmm

Lime and Cointreau Sorbet

1 c sugar 1 c water zest of 3-4 limes 1/2 c lime juice 1.5 T cointreau
Dissolve sugar in water over low heat without boiling then leave to cool. add remaining ingreds then to quote Jennfer, freeze(forabout 3 hours), chop, freeze, chop, freeze and scoff!

Melon Sorbet

1 rockmelon(or 1/2 water melon), 2 T icing sugar juice of 1 lemon
Seed melon and cut into small chunks. Blend half with icing sugar and lemon juice then add the rest of the melon and blend til smooth. Slight variation here, freeze(2 hours this time) then whiz, freeze and whiz

Coconut Sorbet
1 c sugar 1 c warm water 2 c coconut milk 1 t coconut essence 1/2 c dessicated coconut 2 egg whites stiffly beaten
Dissolve the sugar in water and then leave til cool. Add coconut milk, coconut essence and coconut. Yet another variation on the theme freeze for at least 8 hours then scoop into food processor, add egg white and whiz til mix is fluffy and white. Freeze for at least another hour or until firm.



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 09/08/08 05:20AM by Sally.

Re: Good Sorbet recipes?
Posted by: Jennifer1
Date: August 9, 2008 06:38PM

Hi Maryloo, some time in the next few days I will send you a PM with sorbet recipes; happy to help as I'm a big fan of them myself - the icy ones anyway. Do you have a food processor? You really should give my quick blueberry "thing" a whirl - icy, cold, refreshing, delicious. Eat it now, sitting by the fire. It has the most beautiful purple/blue/red colour.

I think the creamy ones cannot really be called sorbet and are instead gelato/icecream. Sorbet, to me, is water, fruit/juice, sugar, and sometimes the egg whites. Anything with dairy (milk/cream) becomes ice-cream/gelato.


One of my favourite flavours is the coconut one. Sally has given a recipe for that. Thank you Sally! I think coconut sits on the fence for classification. It uses milk but really it is a "fruit juice" milk rather than dairy, so even though the end result is creamy, it fits the sorbet criteria.

Re: Good Sorbet recipes?
Posted by: Maryloo
Date: August 9, 2008 07:39PM

Oh, thanks girls.
I will keep the recipes and try them as soon as I can. No real hurry for the recipes J1- just at your leisure.
I do have a packet of frozen Blueberries in the freezer too! And a food processor so am more than half way there:-)
As I said earlier, Sorbets are icy mouth refreshers to me and I agree about the icream-y thing.

Re: Good Sorbet recipes?
Posted by: Jennifer1
Date: August 11, 2008 04:02AM

Sally, I made your Coconut Sorbet, omitting only the coconut essence, and it is delicious. It makes nearly a 2L icecream container full, so I have a nice little supply now! Thank you once again.