We started trying out a new weekly produce box,1 and ended up with a lot of Meyer Lemons. When life gives you lemons… make sorbet! This sorbet has a crisp lemon flavor and a silky smooth texture.
Did you know that you can use a Vitamix to quickly make simple syrup? Usually people make simple syrup by boiling water and then stirring in sugar, but you can save time by using a Vitamix. The high-powered blades mix it so vigorously that you can dissolve sugar in about 30 seconds. (It might even happen faster—I have not done extensive testing on the minimum time.) The syrup will initially look cloudy because of tiny air bubbles, but in a few minutes it will clear up, as the bubbles slowly rise.
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
zest from one lemon
1 cup Meyer lemon juice (from ~6 lemons)
Makes ~9 scoops.
Blend water and sugar on high until sugar dissolves, ~30 seconds. Then freeze in ice-cube trays. You can freeze it in ice-cube trays separately from the lemon juice, or mixed with the lemon juice and zest. If you freeze the syrup separately, put the zest into an ice-cube tray and then pour in the juice and put in the freezer.
Allow to freeze solid, a few hours or overnight.
I recommend pre-chilling the container you will store the sorbet in.
Blend the frozen cubes on high with vigorous use of the tamper, pushing down the corners. Either serve immediately into pre-chilled serving bowls, or transfer to chilled storage container and put back in freezer for an hour or two for a firmer sorbet. (That’s what I did for the scoop photo above.)
I finally got a proper ice cream scoop. I went with the classic Zeroll scoop, and it’s a major improvement for making rounded scoops. It also cuts into hard ice cream nicely.
1. The box is from Imperfect Produce, which has an interesting premise: they source fruits and vegetables that grocery stores do not want to sell because they’re the wrong size or shape. And because their produce comes directly from farms, it is often fresher than what you’d get at the grocery store. Plus, it’s cheaper and cuts down on food waste. If you are in the SF Bay Area and would like to try them out, let me know, and I can send you a referral that will get you a discount on your first box.
More info: NY Times article about Imperfect Produce, and great Last Week Tonight w/ John Oliver segment on food waste. ↑
Hello! I wonder if you have used Stevia or part Stevia in a recipe like this? How would it be done? Thank you!!
I have not made sorbet with no-calorie sweeteners. You can do it, but it will be different. In addition to minor differences in taste, not having (or having less) sugar will affect the texture. Sugar helps keep it less icy. If I were trying stevia, I would probably start by cutting the sugar in half and replacing that with stevia. Or you could cut out all the sugar and just accept that it will be icier.
There are some things you can add that can also help minimize iciness. For a recipe like this, you could try alcohol (probably vodka), or guar gum.
I wish we had something like imperfect produce here. And lemon sorbet sounds amazing. I’ll have to try that with my new Vitamix!
Do you have to use Meyer lemons ?
I haven’t tried with regular lemons, but it should still work. It would probably be more sour. Maybe use a bit less lemon juice?