From a recipe published in Cook’s Illustrated: American Classics which I got at my local news stand. If you haven’t looked at Cook’s Illustrate or its sister publication; Cook’s Country, I recommend that you do. They are quality publications with a lot of the why rather than just random recipes.
I’ve been wanting to do a Sherbet after the success of my chocolate “the bomb” sorbet. I’ve tweaked the recipe slightly, but what you see here is largely what was published.
I’m using fresh squeezed orange juice here, which I recommend. You will get the strongest, freshest orange flavor this way. If you can find fresh squeezed, unpasteurized at the store, go for it. Pasteurized orange juice will work, but will likely not taste as fresh. Stay away from concentrate, it is cooked to hell and back and won’t make your desert taste very good.
1 Tbsp grated orange zest. About 1-2 oranges.
1 cup (7oz) of sugar
1/8 tsp salt (kosher)
2 cups of fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons juice from 1-2 lemons
“caviar” from 2 vanilla beans (can substitute extract too)
2 teaspoons vodka (can use Triple Sec too)
2/3 cup heavy cream
- Put zest, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a food processor blender. Process until damp using the pulse setting.
- With the machine running, slowly add orange juice and lemon juice. Process until sugar is dissolved.
- Strain mixture through a nonreactive, fine metal strainer (cheese cloth might work too), into a medium bowl. Stir in vodka or Triple Sec. Cover with plastic wrap and stash in your freezer until the mixture reaches 40 degrees. DO NOT FREEZE THE MIXTURE! Ice bath could work here too.
- When mixture is cold, whip the cream in your mixer or by hand until soft peaks form.
- Continue whisking (slowly if doing with a mixer), and slowly add the juice mixture in a steady stream. It helps to pour against the side of the bowl so you don’t get splashing,
- Immediately start your ice cream machine and add the juice/cream mixture to the canister; churn until sherbet has a soft server consistency. About 25 to 30 minutes depending on your unit
- Remove from the caniser and transfer to storage container(s). Press plastic wrap against the surface of the sherbet to force out the air. Freeze for at least 3 hours. Overnight is better.
- With the plastic wrap on top, the sherbet will remain good frozen for up to a week…if it lasts that long, which it won’t.
Yeah this stuff is tasty. A little creamier than a sorbet. Only thing I noticed is it melts fast. A tablespoon of fruit preserves in place of an equal amount of sugar might provide some emulsifiers (in the form of pectin). But heck I ate it so fast, it didn’t have time to melt that much.
I was really pleased with the orange flavor too. The vanilla wasn’t noticeable, but seemed to add some more complex flavors. I think extract would work better in this case because the mixture doesn’t really sit and have time to absorb the vanilla. The mixture doesn’t cook either so not as much change to extract the vanilla from the bean.
Orange Sherbet. Woops!
Sorry. I wanted to get a picture before I ate it…I failed.