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)
Jul 29th,
2005
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 :)