Fruit Sorbets
Cooking Skills: Ice Cream 1
Chapter 4 · Fruit Sorbets
Skill goal
Balance fruit, sugar and acid and freeze four dairy-free sorbets by hand.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Sorbet is a sweetened, frozen fruit purée, with no milk, cream or eggs. It is light, refreshing and naturally dairy-free. Because it has no fat, the balance of sugar matters even more: too little and it freezes into a solid, icy block; too much and it will not set.
The method
- Dissolve the sugar first in a syrup, so the texture is smooth, not gritty.
- Taste the base before freezing, and make it a little sweeter than you want: freezing dulls sweetness.
- Use ripe fruit. Freezing mutes flavour, so strong-tasting fruit makes the best sorbet.
- Add acid (lemon or lime juice) to brighten the flavour.
- Chill the base well, freeze in a shallow tub and beat it with a fork every 30 minutes.
- Eat it within about a week: sorbet gets hard and icy as it ages.
| Fruit | Sugar per 400 g purée (rough guide) | Acid |
|---|---|---|
| Lemon (juice) | 150 g with 300 ml water | Already acid |
| Raspberry | 100 g with 100 ml water | 1 tbsp lemon juice |
| Mango | 60 g with 100 ml water | 2 tbsp lime juice |
| Strawberry | 80 g with 100 ml water | 1 tbsp lemon juice |
Fruit, hot syrup and keeping
Fruit: use ripe, flavourful fruit, because freezing dulls flavour and so sorbet needs strong-tasting fruit. Wash fresh fruit and, if using frozen berries, heat them until boiling and simmer for a minute, as is usual UK advice for frozen berries (general guidance: check the pack).Sugar syrup: to make a simple syrup, stir equal weights of sugar and water in a pan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves, simmer for 1 minute and cool completely. Keep the pan handle turned in: hot syrup scalds badly.
Keeping sorbet: sorbet is best eaten within about a week (it turns hard and icy as it ages). Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping, and break it up in a blender or food processor for 20 seconds if it has frozen solid.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Lemon sorbet
The simplest sorbet: sweet-sour lemon, light and sharp. Dissolving the sugar into a syrup keeps the texture smooth. Taste before freezing: it should taste a little too sweet, because freezing dulls sweetness.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 150 ml lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
- 150 g caster sugar
- 300 ml water, divided
- 1 strip of lemon zest (optional)
- Heat the sugar with 150 ml of the water (and the zest) over a low heat until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 1 minute. Cool completely and take out the zest.
- Stir in the lemon juice and the remaining 150 ml of cold water. Taste: it should be sweet and sharp. Add a little sugar or juice to adjust. Chill for 1 hour.
- Pour into a shallow tub and freeze, beating with a fork every 30 minutes for about 3 to 4 hours, until it is a fine, scoopable ice.
- Let it stand for 5 minutes before scooping.
Hot syrup and keeping
Sugar syrup: to make a simple syrup, stir equal weights of sugar and water in a pan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves, simmer for 1 minute and cool completely. Keep the pan handle turned in: hot syrup scalds badly.Keeping sorbet: sorbet is best eaten within about a week (it turns hard and icy as it ages). Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping, and break it up in a blender or food processor for 20 seconds if it has frozen solid.
Knife safety: cut on a stable board (a damp cloth underneath) and tuck your guiding fingertips back (the claw). Cut a banana or mango in a way that gives a flat side to rest on.
Level 1 · Purée
Raspberry sorbet
Raspberries make a vivid, intense sorbet. Sieve out the seeds for a smooth texture. The sugar syrup and the lemon juice balance their natural tartness.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 400 g raspberries (fresh, or frozen and boiled for a minute, then cooled)
- 100 g caster sugar
- 100 ml water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Make a syrup with the sugar and water, simmer for 1 minute and cool.
- Blend the raspberries and press through a sieve into a bowl, scraping the pulp and discarding the seeds. Stir in the syrup and lemon juice and taste.
- Chill for at least 1 hour. Freeze in a shallow tub, beating every 30 minutes, for 3 to 4 hours.
Fruit, hot syrup and keeping
Fruit: use ripe, flavourful fruit, because freezing dulls flavour and so sorbet needs strong-tasting fruit. Wash fresh fruit and, if using frozen berries, heat them until boiling and simmer for a minute, as is usual UK advice for frozen berries (general guidance: check the pack).Sugar syrup: to make a simple syrup, stir equal weights of sugar and water in a pan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves, simmer for 1 minute and cool completely. Keep the pan handle turned in: hot syrup scalds badly.
Keeping sorbet: sorbet is best eaten within about a week (it turns hard and icy as it ages). Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping, and break it up in a blender or food processor for 20 seconds if it has frozen solid.
Level 2 · Thick purée
Mango sorbet
Mango is naturally thick and sweet, so it needs less sugar and some water and lime juice to lift it. Use very ripe mango: unripe fruit tastes starchy.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 2 ripe mangoes (about 500 g flesh)
- 60 g caster sugar
- 100 ml water
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- Peel the mangoes and cut the flesh off the stones. Make a syrup with the sugar and water, simmer for 1 minute and cool.
- Blend the mango flesh until completely smooth with the syrup and lime juice. Taste and add more lime if it is flat.
- Chill for 1 hour, then freeze in a shallow tub, beating every 30 minutes for 3 to 4 hours.
Knife, hot syrup and keeping
Knife safety: cut on a stable board (a damp cloth underneath) and tuck your guiding fingertips back (the claw). Cut a banana or mango in a way that gives a flat side to rest on.Sugar syrup: to make a simple syrup, stir equal weights of sugar and water in a pan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves, simmer for 1 minute and cool completely. Keep the pan handle turned in: hot syrup scalds badly.
Keeping sorbet: sorbet is best eaten within about a week (it turns hard and icy as it ages). Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping, and break it up in a blender or food processor for 20 seconds if it has frozen solid.
Level 3 · Infusion
Strawberry and basil sorbet
Basil and strawberry are a classic pairing. Steep the basil in the hot syrup for just 5 minutes: longer makes it bitter. Strain it out before blending.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 400 g strawberries, hulled
- 80 g caster sugar
- 100 ml water
- 6 basil leaves
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Heat the sugar and water until the sugar dissolves and simmer for 1 minute. Take off the heat, add the basil leaves, press them under and leave to infuse for 5 minutes. Strain and cool.
- Blend the strawberries to a smooth purée and stir in the cooled syrup and lemon juice. Taste: it should be fruity, with a hint of basil.
- Chill for 1 hour, then freeze in a shallow tub, beating every 30 minutes for 3 to 4 hours.
Fruit, hot syrup and keeping
Fruit: use ripe, flavourful fruit, because freezing dulls flavour and so sorbet needs strong-tasting fruit. Wash fresh fruit and, if using frozen berries, heat them until boiling and simmer for a minute, as is usual UK advice for frozen berries (general guidance: check the pack).Sugar syrup: to make a simple syrup, stir equal weights of sugar and water in a pan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves, simmer for 1 minute and cool completely. Keep the pan handle turned in: hot syrup scalds badly.
Keeping sorbet: sorbet is best eaten within about a week (it turns hard and icy as it ages). Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping, and break it up in a blender or food processor for 20 seconds if it has frozen solid.
Experiments
Experiment
Sugar amount
Too little, right, too much.
- Make three small batches of raspberry sorbet with 40 g, 70 g and 100 g of sugar to 400 g of fruit. Freeze them overnight.
Look for: The low-sugar batch is rock hard and tastes sharp. The high-sugar batch is soft, almost slushy, and sweet. The middle batch scoops. Notice the differences.
Experiment
Stirring or not
Beaten or left.
- Freeze a lemon sorbet with beating every 30 minutes and another with none.
Look for: The beaten one is fine and scoopable. The unbeaten one is a solid block of coarse ice. Beating (or a machine) is what makes sorbet.
Experiment
Fruit ripeness
Ripe or under-ripe.
- Make small batches of mango or strawberry sorbet with a very ripe fruit and a firm one.
Look for: The ripe fruit makes a sweet, fragrant sorbet. The firm one tastes thin and starchy, and no sugar will fix it.
Experiment
A splash of lemon
With and without.
- Make the mango sorbet with the lime juice and with none. Taste each.
Look for: Without acid the sorbet is sweet and flat; with it the mango flavour tastes brighter. A little acid lifts nearly every sorbet.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemon sorbet | ||||
| Raspberry sorbet | ||||
| Mango sorbet | ||||
| Strawberry and basil | ||||
| Sugar amount | ||||
| Stirring or not | ||||
| Ripe or under-ripe | ||||
| With and without lemon |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Rock hard | Too little sugar | Add more sugar next time; stand it 10 minutes; blend it briefly |
| Slushy, won't set | Too much sugar | Add more purée or lemon juice; refreeze |
| Icy and coarse | No stirring, or slow freeze | Use a shallow tub and beat every 30 minutes |
| Bland flavour | Under-ripe fruit, no acid | Use ripe fruit and add lemon or lime juice |
| Seedy | Seeds not sieved out | Press the purée through a sieve |
| Bitter basil | Infused too long | Infuse for 5 minutes then strain |
Fruit, hot syrup and keeping
Fruit: use ripe, flavourful fruit, because freezing dulls flavour and so sorbet needs strong-tasting fruit. Wash fresh fruit and, if using frozen berries, heat them until boiling and simmer for a minute, as is usual UK advice for frozen berries (general guidance: check the pack).Sugar syrup: to make a simple syrup, stir equal weights of sugar and water in a pan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves, simmer for 1 minute and cool completely. Keep the pan handle turned in: hot syrup scalds badly.
Keeping sorbet: sorbet is best eaten within about a week (it turns hard and icy as it ages). Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping, and break it up in a blender or food processor for 20 seconds if it has frozen solid.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make a sugar syrup safely.
- I can balance fruit, sugar and acid.
- I can taste a base and adjust it before freezing.
- I can freeze a sorbet with beating.
- I eat sorbet within about a week.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Ice Cream 1, chapter 5 is Frozen Yogurt, Lollies and Quick Frozen Treats: lighter desserts that need no machine.