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DIY Sorbet without a Machine

Saturday, July 4, 2015 22:06

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I guess I never realized how depressed I’ve been over the last few months, until yesterday. It’s strange, but I’m one of those folks that when I get depressed, I don’t curl up in a ball and try to hide from the world. I wish I could. I do what I need to do— but nothing more. I go to work, make sure the basics of life are taken care of, but I don’t take care of myself. In the last 7 months, which is when I estimate the depression kicked in, I taught 2 semesters at my college, published 3 book titles at our press, and organized a Tolkien Conference.

But it’s been a fight to do anything else, especially in the kitchen. I’m also one of those people who enjoy doing it myself, making things from scratch, knowing that I created that. I mean, reading my posts you know that about me— I make home remedies, salves, lotions, teas, bread, soups, brownies, kombucha. But, in the last 7 months, I haven’t done any of that. I can’t remember the last time I really went all out in the kitchen. I mean, this year, I only just made my first batch of kombucha 3 weeks ago. We’ve gone without for half a year, and that’s unheard of in my house. Ever since I started making kombucha, I’m always with a batch fermenting and if I’m not fermenting kombucha, I’m fermenting something else (honey wine, saurkraut, sour dough, and so on). And, when I’m not doing that, I’m doing some kind of kitchen witchery. It’s sort of my thing.

So what’s this to do with sorbet? One of the things that I know is linked to my depression is diet, and it’s a vicious cycle; I eat poorly, I get more depressed. I gain weight, depression skyrockets. Several weeks back, in April when I tried pulling myself out of the cycle and tried doing a cleanse, I actually was able to stick with it for a few weeks— until I got sucked into the black hole that is the end of semester, publication deadlines, and conference organization. All the headway I made with that cleanse went out the window and it all started with an innocent quest for raspberry sorbet.

I’ve been addicted to sorbet since I was a kid. I remember being the only child at family gatherings a little upset because the most creative iced confection we ever got was Neapolitan. No one in my house, except me, liked sorbet. I was even more upset when my mother confused sherbet for sorbet. The one time I remember her telling me that there was sorbet in the freezer, I was ecstatic and then was crushed to find a tub of orange sherbet. I wasn’t a spoiled child, not by any stretch of the imagination. I didn’t pitch a fit. I don’t think I even told my mother she got the two confections mixed up. Nor did I really tell her that while I love ice cream and appreciated the rare occasions we did get ice cream, I was disappointed that sorbet never found a home in my freezer, until I was older and only when I bought it myself.

When struggling with the cleanse, I was food shopping and struck by that sudden craving for sorbet. But, it wasn’t to be found in the store. So, I settled for ice cream and the cleanse went out the window. Over the last few weeks, ice cream was the one thing that kept getting us side-tracked whenever we tried getting back to eating better.

Over the years, I’ve always wanted to try making my own sorbet and ice creams, but I could never afford a machine— and, even if I could afford it, I have zero space for one in my current apartment. So, I return to the store and buy ready made ice cream. Over the years, the quality has gotten better. I’m a stickler and don’t want a list of additives in my iced treats, so I wind up paying a fortune for better quality and specialty brands.

And then I saw a post in a friend’s Facebook newsfeed about making orange sherbet without an ice cream machine and I started thinking. And then I started Googling. The article that cinched it was David Lebovitz’s “How to Make Ice Cream without a Machine.” It’s straightforward and honest. And he’s absolutely right: people have been making ice cream far longer than electricity. Longer, even than refrigeration. If memory serves (probably thanks to Alton Brown and a Good Eats episode) I think the first time something comparable to ice cream was served was probably as a palate cleanser during a convivium (a Roman feast) in Ancient Rome.

In a nutshell, sorbet is 3 things: fruit juice or fruit puree, a sweetener, and water— frozen, of course. I know that’s over-simplifying it. But sorbet is just shy of a fruit ice. The difference is you don’t want a solid ice crystal or large ice crystals, so the mixture has to be stirred. An ice cream machine combines freezing with the stirring, nothing more. Stirring the mixture aerates it, which breaks down the ice crystals into smaller and smaller bits. Adding alcohol (wine, a liqueur, or even a dash of vodka) brings the freezing temperature down drastically and prevents large ice crystals from forming.

I read a few more articles to get a few tips, opened my fridge to see what I had on hand, and read a few bits in The Joy of Cookingand decided on a flavor combination: hibiscus and blackberries.

Then, you know me, that seemed a little flat. So I added depth with elderberries, cayenne, and lemon. I’ve been making an herb lemonade with hibiscus, elderberries, and a dash of cayenne, which was the inspiration. I also didn’t have as many blackberries as I thought and thought the elderberries would give a nice compliment and berry punch.

Since this is a handmade product, it will take time. This recipe gives you about 2 and a half quarts. The one exception I took with lots of recipes I saw on the interwebs, they were for a shockingly small amount— a pint, gasp: a half pint. I mean: if I’m going to go through the process of making ice cream or sorbet by hand by the gods I’m going to have more than a measly half pint on hand. That said, it will take time to freeze and since you’re going to be stirring it up every 30-40 minutes, don’t go out shopping or sunbathing or on a spree of feeding the homeless. Be on hand to check the mixture and stir it vigorously every 30-40 minutes or your sorbet will become one massive block of ice.

This batch took a little more than 6 and a half hours to freeze. It might’ve gone quicker had I remembered to check the temperature of the freezer. I only realized it wasn’t jacked up until I was about 4 hours into the process.

You also want to make sure, ahead of time, to have the space in your freezer for the pan you’ll be using. I spent the morning clearing space in my regular freezer, which had me taking armloads of frozen food to the deep freezer, only to then require me reorganizing that freezer to make room— but that’s a horse of another color.

Blackberry Hibiscus Sorbet with Elderberry and Cayenne

Ingredients:

½ to 1 pint of fresh blackberries, rinsed and sorted
½ to 1 oz. of candied lemon zest (optional; see recipe below)
2 large lemons, rind intact (you’ll be using the fresh zest too)
8 cups cold water
⅓ cup dried elderberries
½ cup dried hibiscus flowers
½ cup Moscato (or another light, sweet wine: alcohol makes the finished product pliable; you can omit the alcohol or use half but the finished product won’t be as smooth; alcohol doesn’t freeze so it allows a handmade sorbet to have a lower freezing temperature and therefore smaller ice crystals in the finished product, but you can omit this completely— you’ll just have a harder finished product)
your choice of sweetener (at least 2 cups; I used a splenda/sugar blend)
cayenne pepper (optional)

Hardware:

stick blender
stand blender
chinois with pestle
a large 10 cup non-reactive heavy-bottomed pot (for the stove) with tight-fitting lid

Chinois
a large 10-12 cup non-reactive stock pot or a heatproof mixing bowl of equal size, deep enough to fit the chinois
measuring cups
a freezer safe rectangular baking pan at least 2-3 inches deep
a rasp or grater
a vegetable peeler
knife and cutting board
silicone spatula
small sieve or fine strainer
three quart sized containers to store the final product (this makes for about 2 and a half pints, a little less)

1. Into your heavy-bottomed pot add: your 8 cups of cold water, the zest of 1 lemon (zested using a vegetable peeler, pieces kept whole so you can fish them out later), the hibiscus, and elderberries. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid— tight enough so the steam won’t escape, put on medium to high heat, and bring to a rolling boil.

2. Once the mixture comes up to a boil, immediately reduce heat to medium and allow mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Do NOT walk away. Stir occasionally to make sure it’s not burning.

3. Then add the sweetener to taste. Stir until it dissolves completely. The mixture should be just a touch too sweet, but not cloying. The freezing process will dull the flavor. (Whatever you use, you will need some actual sugar in order to help the consistency of the final product, so don’t use a purely artificial sweetener and don’t use just stevia. Sugar helps the sorbet stay smooth. In the next batch I make, I’ll try regular sugar since I think the sugar/splenda blend I made may have affected how the batch keeps over time, making it a touch too icy.) For an 8 cup batch, I used a tad over 2 cups of the sugar/splenda blend.

4. Remove from the heat and add cayenne to taste. This is optional. But, I’m a chilihead and rarely eat a meal without a dash of chili somewhere. The heat from the chili is subtle but it compliments the tartness really nicely and somehow brings out the herbaceousness of the hibiscus. (Nah, I don’t watch Chopped…. much

5. Then, using your stick blender, carefully puree. You can allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes, uncovered, to cool, but it will puree a bit easier when it’s warm.

6. Allow the pureed mixture to cool til room temperature. You can leave it to cool on the stove, or ladle it into a heatproof container (I used a large capacity pyrex bowl) and put it in the fridge to cool. You don’t want to leave it overnight because as it cools, it will thicken a little because of the natural pectin in the berries. I let it stand almost 2 hours in the fridge and it was still warm enough to strain evenly.

7. As the mixture is cooling, set up your hardware. Into a large stock pot set the chinois. You can use a food mill or food processor, but the chinois is a strainer and essentially a food mill if you’re using the pestle. Since it’s unwieldy and if you don’t have a stand (which I don’t) it won’t stand up on it’s own; set it into a deep stock pot but not so deep that it doesn’t touch the bottom of the pot. You want the chinois to stand up on its own inside

I didn’t snap a pic of mine, but this is basically what I’m talking about.

the pot. Make sure you’re working on clear area so you can set up your pot alongside your stand mixer. Then gather your remaining ingredients. If you haven’t already prepared the candied zest, you can do so now (using some other lemons you have on hand). Then finely mince ½ to 1 ounce of the zest— and set aside. Using the rasp or grater, grate the zest of one of your remaining lemons. Set that zest aside as well. Juice 1 of your lemons and hold the other in reserve should you want that extra acidity. Strain the juice to remove any pulp and seeds.

8. Once the hibiscus mixture is cool, this is your sorbet base, remove it from the fridge and set up your assembly line. You’re basically pureeing the blend using the stand blender. Why puree what you’ve already pureed with the stick blender? The stand blender will make a smoother puree which is easier to strain. Puree in batches. This is liquid and will fly all over the place if you overload your stand blender. Into the first batch add a handful of your blackberries. Whazz it up and carefully ladle into the chinois. Don’t start using the pestle yet. Repeat this process until all of the mixture and all of the blackberries have been pureed. Set the stand blender aside, you won’t be using it again.

9. Lift the chinois just enough so it’s not touching the bottom and gently tap until the majority of the liquid has passed through on its own. You should have a fair amount of pulp left inside the chinois. Using the pestle carefully press and pulverize the pulp. You’ll see a thicker liquid being pressed through the chinois. Once you’re satisfied with the amount of liquid pressed from the pulp, use your spatula to scrape the outside of the chinois, scraping the liquid into your mixture. Then discard put the chinois aside and discard the pulp.
Note: if you want a sorbet without any pulp, then before straining the base, use cheesecloth to line the chinois and use the pestle to simply press the liquid from the pulp. Discard all the pulp and, if you’re frisky, strain again. And, if you’re going through this process, don’t add any candied lemon zest or fresh zest (in the next step). I like the texture of a little pulp and zest in the finished product.

This is mine, but after straining.

10. Using your spatula stir your mixture. To it add: the finely minced candied zest, the freshly grated zest, strained juice of 1 lemon, and half the moscato. Taste. Make sure the acidity is to your taste. Make sure it’s not too sweet or too sour. Since I enjoy moscato, I want to have a hint of the flavor. If you’re not a fan, then ¼ cup should be sufficient. Or simply use a wine that you’re a fan of provided it has a complimentary flavor to the ingredients and don’t go much over ½ cup or you risk the whole batch not freezing properly.

Just added the wine.

11. Pour the mixture carefully into a deep rectangular pan and pop in the freezer, uncovered. Every 30-40 minutes remove from the freezer and stir vigorously using the stick blender, being sure to scrape the sides using the spatula.

After the first hour. It’s still very liquid, but it’s starting to thicken.

As I said before, it took between 6-7 hours for this to get nicely frozen— and the final product made the wait well worth it. Once it’s frozen, place in freezer safe containers and mark them. I checked the batch this morning and it is substantially harder now, being packed into the container. I doubt it will hang around very long in our freezer, but because there aren’t any additives to make it supple, over time the mixture will become quite hard so consume relatively quickly after making. The texture yesterday was much more supple. Today, it was a bit coarser and a bit more like a granita— nonetheless, utterly enjoyable. With future batches, I probably won’t use such a narrow storage container— which made it a little difficult to dish it up. I also have to take it out of the freezer and allow it to sit for a few minutes before serving.

After about 3 hours.

After about 4 hours.

Nearly there: after 5 hours.

It’s better to work fast. After placing in a container (left) you can see the mix started to melt (right).

I said before that it wasn’t until yesterday that I realized how depression had taken a toll on me over the last few months. I have great sympathy and empathy for people who struggle with depression and aren’t as functional as I am during their struggle. It’s strange how something like cooking in the kitchen can bring revelations, but making this sorbet yesterday was truly an enlightening experience. I don’t want to get back to where I’ve been over the last few months. Now, when I get the craving for sorbet, I can make it myself. I can have more control over my food and if I can make sorbet without a high-tech gadget, then what can’t I do?

Today sorbet. Tomorrow the world.

Candied Lemon Zest

I hate to throw anything away and whenever I use fresh lemons, I hate throwing away all that yummy, useful zest. So, I candy it and in the process I’m making some lemon flavored simple syrup, which is also useful to have on hand. I use the candied zest diced in everything from baked goods to jams to salad dressing to smoothies and I use the simple syrup in home made iced teas, lemonade, baked goods, and on and on. Provided the jar is glass and that you don’t contaminate the syrup, the preserved zest and syrup will last for months in the fridge.

The process is simple and can be used for any citrus. Although, lime zest stays a bit hard and when you don’t use organic limes (which are nearly impossible to find) sometimes the zest has an off, chemical-like flavor, and I don’t have much call for grapefruit zest. Though I’ve used this process successfully for lemon, orange, and tangerine.

Before juicing any citrus, using a vegetable peeler, peel off the outer layer of rind—being careful not to get any of the white pith. If you’re not going to make the syrup right away, you can put zest in the fridge for a few days while you accumulate more zest. But do it as soon as possible as the zest will go off in about a week. Once you’re happy with the amount of zest you’ve collected— I get about half a cup together or more— then make the syrup.

Into a medium to small saucepan, combine equal parts sugar and water. Put in medium heat and stir until all the sugar dissolves. Add the zest and cover, allowing the mixture to come up to a simmer. Do NOT walk away. You don’t want caramel on your hands. Once the mix is simmering, uncover and stir occasionally. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn, but allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, slap the cover on it, remove the pot from the heat, and allow to come to room temperature. The zest will candy and the syrup will be infused with the citrus flavor. I store the zest in the syrup in a glass jar in the fridge. If you’re careful about not contaminating the mixture, it’ll keep for several months.

I told you it wouldn’t stick around long.

Source: http://www.green-and-growing.com/2015/07/diy-sorbet-without-machine.html

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