Lemon-Basil Sorbet
Dec. 14th, 2011 03:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amethyst73I was given a spiffy new electric ice cream maker for my birthday back in October, with the (joking) condition that I use it to make a sorbet or two for the family gathering at Christmastime. (There are a couple of people who have dairy allergies, so ice cream, ice milk, and frozen yogurt are right out.) So I'm trying out recipes.
The first recipe we tried was inspired by a recipe in the recipe booklet that came with the ice cream maker: Lemon Basil Sorbet. It had an obvious issue, however, in that the total liquid volume before freezing was already nearly the capacity of the freezer. So I looked online, and found a plausible-looking one at budgetgourmetmom:
Lemon-Basil Sorbet
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp lemon zest
Begin by making a simple syrup with sugar and water and steep the basil in the syrup. Follow the directions for my mint infused simple syrup.
(In a small pot dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to a slow boil. Watch carefully and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and drop the mint in. Allow to steep for 10 minutes. Use a small strainer to scoop out the leaves. Use to flavor drinks.)
Once the basil infused simple syrup has cooled mix it with the lemon juice and zest. Pour into a baking dish or bowl and freeze for 1-2 hours or until semi-solid. Fluff with a fork and continue to freeze until firm. Transfer mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Place in a freezer safe container and chill until you are ready to serve.
I used 2 lemons' worth of zest because 1 lemon produced something over a teaspoon but not 2 teaspoons' worth. I found that 5 good-sized lemons produce a bit over a cup of lemon juice. We also found that it's best to freeze stuff for the full 20 minutes, because there was definitely unfrozen stuff at the bottom when I thought it was done.
Results: It's very very VERY lemony; I'm having trouble finishing a bowl of it because it's just so lemony.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nezumiko will probably enjoy it straight because he eats lemons, but the rest of us will want just a little, or have it with a side of another flavor - maybe some of the chocolate sorbet that I'm working on now. The Christmas batch will have a rather lower ratio of lemon juice to other stuff.
Also, the basil flavor is almost undetectable. We've made basil ice cream (trust us - it's really really really good), and know what frozen basil flavor is supposed to taste like. Steeping the basil for 10 minutes in just-boiled sugar water wasn't long enough. I'm thinking a good 20 minutes should improve it.
The first recipe we tried was inspired by a recipe in the recipe booklet that came with the ice cream maker: Lemon Basil Sorbet. It had an obvious issue, however, in that the total liquid volume before freezing was already nearly the capacity of the freezer. So I looked online, and found a plausible-looking one at budgetgourmetmom:
Lemon-Basil Sorbet
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp lemon zest
Begin by making a simple syrup with sugar and water and steep the basil in the syrup. Follow the directions for my mint infused simple syrup.
(In a small pot dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to a slow boil. Watch carefully and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and drop the mint in. Allow to steep for 10 minutes. Use a small strainer to scoop out the leaves. Use to flavor drinks.)
Once the basil infused simple syrup has cooled mix it with the lemon juice and zest. Pour into a baking dish or bowl and freeze for 1-2 hours or until semi-solid. Fluff with a fork and continue to freeze until firm. Transfer mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Place in a freezer safe container and chill until you are ready to serve.
I used 2 lemons' worth of zest because 1 lemon produced something over a teaspoon but not 2 teaspoons' worth. I found that 5 good-sized lemons produce a bit over a cup of lemon juice. We also found that it's best to freeze stuff for the full 20 minutes, because there was definitely unfrozen stuff at the bottom when I thought it was done.
Results: It's very very VERY lemony; I'm having trouble finishing a bowl of it because it's just so lemony.
nezumiko will probably enjoy it straight because he eats lemons, but the rest of us will want just a little, or have it with a side of another flavor - maybe some of the chocolate sorbet that I'm working on now. The Christmas batch will have a rather lower ratio of lemon juice to other stuff.Also, the basil flavor is almost undetectable. We've made basil ice cream (trust us - it's really really really good), and know what frozen basil flavor is supposed to taste like. Steeping the basil for 10 minutes in just-boiled sugar water wasn't long enough. I'm thinking a good 20 minutes should improve it.
