The secret to getting your sorbet the right consistency is to balance the amount of sugar that you put in your fruit pulp. You need to make your fruit pulp quite sweet because the cold dulls the sweetness once it’s frozen, but too much sugar will prevent the sorbet from freezing properly and too little will give you a rock hard sorbet that you can’t scoop out.
I use a simple test to check the sugar content is correct. Once I’ve blended up my fruit and fruit juice, I put in about half of my syrup. Then I wash an egg, and gently place it, shell in tact, in the mixture. You need to see about a 2,5cm wide circle of the egg above the liquid. If it is too small, stir in a little more sugar syrup and test again. If the circle of egg is too big, add a small amount of water and test again. This method allows you to use any fruit you want, and the sugar content of the fruit shouldn’t affect the sorbet.
Remove the egg before freezing though, I hope this goes without saying.
1l dairy fruit juice
400g strawberries, washed and roughly chopped
15ml lemon juice
250ml castor sugar
250ml water
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and water.
Stir over a medium heat until the liquid is clear. Remove from the heat.
In a food processor, process strawberries until they form a pulp.
Strain the strawberries through a sieve to remove the seeds.
Add the fruit juice and blend until well combined.
Add 200ml of the sugar liquid and lemon blend well.
Test with a whole egg.
Place in a wide shallow dish and freeze for at least 6 hours.
Take the sorbet out of the freezer 10 minutes before serving.
- 1l dairy fruit juice
- 400g strawberries, washed and roughly chopped
- 15ml lemon juice
- 250ml castor sugar
- 250ml water
- In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and water.
- Stir over a medium heat until the liquid is clear. Remove from the heat.
- In a food processor, process strawberries until they form a pulp.
- Strain the strawberries through a sieve to remove the seeds.
- Add the fruit juice and blend until well combined.
- Add 200 ml of the sugar liquid and lemon blend well.
- Place in a wide shallow dish and freeze for at least 6 hours.
- Take the sorbet out of the freezer for about 10 minutes before serving.
