You can’t beat a refreshing fruit sorbet when the sun is shining.
More thirst-quenching than ice cream, this water-based treat sees sales skyrocket in the summer so including one or two on your menu is a must. The key to successful sorbets is nailing the sugar content.
Steve Carrigan explains:
“There’s no fat in sorbets, just fruit and water, so it’s vital to get the sugar content right. Many people fail because they don’t measure it accurately and, as a consequence, the sorbet goes icy and crumbly.”
Steve’s top tip is to invest in a refractometer – a tool specifically designed for measuring concentrations of aqueous solutions such as gases, liquids and translucent solids.
“It’s such a clever little tool and costs less than £20,” continues Steve. “Winemakers use them to test the sugar content of grapes on the vine, determining when they need to be picked.
“It literally takes a couple of minutes. For sorbets, the sugar content needs to be between 27-30%. You simply add sugar or water to achieve the perfect blend.”
Ingredients420g Rubicone vegetal fruit 70 350g Tate & Lyle granulated sugar 6 litres water |
MethodWarm the water to 45ºC. This will help the powders to dissolve. Add the vegetal, sugar and paste to the warm water and blend until fully mixed and no lumps. Pour into the batch freezer and select your normal sorbet program. On extraction, ripple Rubicone lime variegato through the mix to create ribbons of lime, then drizzle the variegato over the top of your finished creation. Add slices of lime and sliced strawberry to finish. |
