Having witnessed Noël's valiant struggles with custard-based ice cream, I decided to have a go at a simple fruit sorbet for my inaugural batch. Since these pints were destined for consumption at a barbeque, lemon seemed like a logical choice. So, I picked up a bag of lemons at the store, stole an electric juicer from my parents' kitchen, and headed home for some sorbet shenanigans.
At first, I was wary of attempting a recipe from the booklet that had come with the ice cream maker. What did Cuisinart know about sorbet, anyway? I concluded, however, that it was probably pretty difficult to screw up a recipe with four ingredients, and decided to go for it. The risk was well worth it; apparently Cuisinart does know a thing or two about lemon sorbet. It was tart, refreshing and perfect for a warm, summer evening.
The Recipe
Taken from the Cuisinart Recipe Booklet that accompanied our ice cream maker. The preparation takes about 20-30 minutes.
Ingredients3 cups water 2 cups granulated sugar 2 tablespoons lemon zest, divided 3 cups fresh lemon juice** 1 pinch of salt  | Directions1. Prepare a lemon simple syrup by combining the water, sugar, and 1.5 tablespoons of the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium low heat. Cook mixture until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat. 2. Once the simple syrup is ready, add the salt. Let the mixture steep for 30 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours, or overnight. 3. Follow the directions for your ice cream maker and churn until thickened (with the Cuisinart, about 15 to 20 minutes). When the sorbet is almost done, add the reserved zest. The sorbet will have a soft, creamy texture. 4. Transfer the sorbet into an airtight container (or adorable cardboard pints), and store in the freezer. |
**Note: it takes a LOT of lemons to get 3 cups of juice. My bag of 8 yielded about a cup and a half.
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