July 28th
2005
The news probably came as a shock to the clusters of red currants that were parked next to our fruit plate the last 2 days. We actually had bought them to make some fine red currant & strawberry jam, but in lack of finding a basket of good quality strawberries and with the high temperatures (33°C/91°F) I felt like changing plans - trading in a hot job for a cool thing.
All our sorbets are based on the same principles: combining fruit/herb puree (strained) with the right amount of molasses. Sounds easy enough? Once you have made one, there is no way back - it's highly addictive. In fact the next concoctions are already in the making :)
On the contrary, what's not easy is trying to capture sorbet at 33°C on film. O.
Detach berries from the stems and puree with a food processor. Run puree through a strainer (optionally lined with cheese cloth) and set aside.
For the syrup: Put the water, the sugar and the lime zest into a pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 4-5 minutes, then remove from heat and let completely chill.
Combine the juice of one orange with the berry juice/pulp and add syrup. Usually I prepare about 20% more molasses to start with and decide on the fly how much I want to add to the fruit mix depending on the level of tartness I'm after.
Either use an ice cream machine or simply put it the mix in the freezer, but don't forget to check back with the sorbet every so many hours (depending how cold the freezer is set) and stir well to ensure a uniform texture. A trick I've tried for the first time and found it to be working extremely well, is to pour the semi fredo sorbet into the food processor again, blend well and send it back to the freezer. This way all larger ice crystals are crushed and the texture becomes very smooth.
Red Currant Sorbet
Recipe source: Own creation
Required time: preparation 25 min., chilling 4-6 hours
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Ingredients (serves 4-5):
150ml water
140g sugar
juice of 1 orange
250ml of red currant juice/pulp (strained)
Hi Nicky - this sorbet is my favourite, my recipe is from Nigella's book (boozy one). We get loads of berries/currants from nearby farm, I'm going to post about it soon too ;)
hi nicky, hmm, wow, that looks and sounds so tart and deliciously refreshing...the very essence of summer...cheers,j
yes indeed, your recipe is great ! i love sorbets : my favorite is strawberries and rhubarb... but yours looks tasty too !
I love the blue and red in that photo. Gorgeous. And that sorbet sounds soooo refreshing.
absolutely inspired! xox!!
Thanks for stopping by everyone. It indeed was soo refreshing, especially with the hot days we’ve been having (it seems the weather changes from one extreme to another) ;))
Hi,
Great recipe. Just thought you might like to know that "molasses" means something quite different here in North America--a brown very strongly flavoured remnant when sugar is processed from sugar cane. It was cheap, so poorer people used it in American south. It has a wonderful flavour. However, what you want in recipes which uses sugar/water emulsions is the word "syrup" or "sugar syrup."
n
Sorry for the necromancy, but I had to say I love this sorbet! I was looking for a use for currant juice that wasn't a chiffon pie (yes, there's jelly, but I'm partial to strawberry) and oh em gee this hits the spot!
For the non-metric users, here's the equivalents I worked out:
5 oz. water
5 oz. granulated sugar
3 oz. orange juice
8 oz. currant juice
[...] It’s been a landmark day in the garden - I discovered ACTUAL CURRANTS on the red currant bush I planted 3 years ago. They aren’t ripe yet, and I’m guessing there will only be a bowlful, but still, real red currants. Now what to do with them. I suppose I could make this, or this, or even this. [...]
step #2 has lime juice and step #3 has molasses but they are not mentioned in the ingredients or how much to use!!
WOW! That sorbet looks stunning!.
I do adore a fruity sorbet during the sorching summers here in Oz, lighter and more refreshing than ice cream or gelato (not that there's anything wrong with either of those). Will definitely keep that recipe in mind for when summer swings around :)