Various Sorbets

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Fine-mesh sieve, jelly bag, or several layers of fine cheesecloth
• •1½-quart domestic ice-cream machine
• •2-quart nonreactive saucepan
• •Shallow 1-quart lidded freezer container

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose and strain

   Make one flavor formula per batch. For fruit sorbet, measure 2½ cups (600 ml) of clear juice after straining. A centrifugal juicer works for pineapple and cherries; for strawberries, raspberries, or red currants, crush fresh or thawed fruit and let it drain through a jelly bag or several layers of fine cheesecloth. Press gently, but stop before pulp begins squeezing through. Do not blend the fruit into purée. The juice-first method is what keeps the finished sorbet bright and light.

   Unsweetened bottled pineapple or cherry juice is entirely respectable, as are berries frozen at their peak. Check the label for added sugar, since sweetened juice will upset the freezing balance.
2. 2

   Reduce the wine

   If making a Port, Samos, or Marsala sorbet, pour 1⅞ cups (450 ml) of the wine into a cool saucepan and reserve ⅔ cup (150 ml). Bring the wine gradually to a gentle uncovered simmer and reduce it to 1 scant cup (225 ml), without flaming it. For Johannisberg, simmer 1¼ cups (300 ml) down to about ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon (200 ml), reserving the other 1¼ cups (300 ml). Cool completely. This lowers the alcohol enough for a home freezer while the reserved wine keeps the finished perfume alive. For fruit or spirit sorbet, skip this step.

3. 3

   Dissolve the syrup

   Combine the water and sugar specified for your chosen formula in a saucepan. Warm gently, stirring only until every crystal has dissolved and the syrup looks clear. Do not boil it down, since evaporation changes the ratio you measured. Remove it from the heat and cool completely. Keep rum, kirsch, and Liqueur-Brandy away from the heat; their aroma belongs in the cold base, and heating strong spirit in an open pan is unnecessary.

4. 4

   Balance and chill

   For fruit sorbet, combine the cold syrup with the strained juice. For wine sorbet, combine the syrup, cooled wine reduction, and reserved uncooked wine. For spirit sorbet, stir the measured rum, kirsch, or Liqueur-Brandy into the cold syrup. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours, until thoroughly cold. Spoon a tablespoon onto a saucer that has been in the freezer and return it there for 10 minutes. The sample should taste bright and slightly sweeter than you want at the table, because deep cold mutes sweetness. If it tastes cloying, add the optional ice-cold water 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time. If it tastes sharp and freezes brittle at the edges, dissolve 2 tablespoons (25 g) of the optional sugar in the same weight of hot water, cool it, and whisk it into the base.

5. 5

   Churn to softness

   Churn the thoroughly chilled base in a frozen domestic ice-cream machine until it has the close, fine texture of soft ice, usually 20 to 30 minutes. If it remains pourable and the machine bowl still carries a hard coat of frost, the base contains too much sugar or alcohol. Ça se rattrape: whisk in ¼ cup (60 ml) of the optional ice-cold water, chill the base again, and rechurn. If the machine bowl has lost its frost, refreeze the bowl instead of diluting the sorbet.

   Without a machine, pour the base into a shallow metal tray and freeze it, beating it firmly with a fork every 30 minutes for about 3 hours. The grain will be slightly coarser, but the flavor and balance remain honest.
6. 6

   Harden and serve

   Pack the churned sorbet into a shallow lidded container, smoothing the surface so no loose crystals remain, and freeze for 3 to 4 hours. Let it stand in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes before scooping if it has become very firm. Serve one flavor or several in chilled coupes, with no decoration required. For an outdoor table, bring the container out only when the plates are cleared and return it to the ice between helpings. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use these fruit profiles exactly for a first batch: pineapple with 170 g sugar, cherry with 160 g, strawberry with 190 g, raspberry with 200 g, and red currant with 225 g, each against 600 ml juice and 240 ml water. The sharper red currant needs the greater measure; that isn't excess, it is balance.
• •For Port, Samos wine, and Marsala, choose a sweet or medium-sweet bottle and use the fortified-wine formula. Johannisberg names a fragrant Rhine wine in the classical repertoire; when that label isn't available, a dry, aromatic Riesling is its honest equivalent.
• •Rum and kirsch carry plenty of aroma at 80 ml per batch. Don't add a merry final splash. Extra spirit lowers the freezing point, and generosity with the bottle produces syrup rather than sorbet.
• •Fruit juice must be unsweetened and free of pulp. If pressing berries yourself, weigh or measure only the finished strained juice; the discarded seeds and fibre never belong in the formula.
• •Fruit sorbets are splendid after an outdoor lunch, while Port, Marsala, kirsch, and rum make smaller, more perfumed servings. Chill the glasses first, since a warm coupe begins melting the fine grain at once.

Advance Preparation

• •The strained juice and dissolved syrup can be prepared separately up to 2 days ahead, covered and chilled. Combine them only after both are thoroughly cold.
• •The complete base can be mixed and refrigerated overnight before churning. Stir it well before it enters the machine, since dense syrup settles.
• •Finished sorbet keeps its finest grain for about 5 days. If longer storage makes it icy, let it soften until crushable, beat it smooth, and rechurn. Ça se rattrape.
• •For outdoor dining, transport the hardened sorbet in an insulated cooler packed with frozen blocks. Keep it in its lidded container until serving rather than pre-scooping it into warm air.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 125g)