frozen dessert
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2019 8:27 am
I don't allow myself much sat' fat on my new diet (my blood tests are great and I don't intend for that to change). While I love ice cream it's definitely a no-no. But just saying "NO!", isn't going to work for long. It's like pizza, some things are just non-negotiable over the long term (I allow myself 1 serving of pizza once a month). But back to frozen dessert. I had a brainstorm and the answer was sorbet. I first tried Hagen-Daz brand and that showed that I was on the right track. So I got a few recipes online and that kicked in my knowledge of cooking to make them better.
The first was red raspberry sorbet. It was absolutely delicious but I wondered if the seeds would produce a grit in the sorbet. They did. Too, the sorbet was hardish and had to be sort of chipped out of the container. The berries I used were out of the frozen food section, so I required no ice cubes to make the sorbet freeze in the blender.
The next was a move to strawberry, again, with whole frozen berries. The flavor was great and the seeds were virtually unnoticeable. But again the sorbet was sort of hard, not like an ice cube, but too hard for easy scooping. So I got rid of the sugar in the mix and moved to corn syrup (Karo type, not high fructose corn syrup). Corn syrup doesn't freeze at normal home freezer temps. The first batch was promising but the recipe could use a bit more sweetness and could be softer. So I upped the syrup to 3/4 cup/1lb of berries. Bingo! Delicious and soft enough to scoop. But feel free to increase the syrup to get an even softer product or to make it sweeter. I took the sorbet to a get together of friends and everyone loved it and many had a second serving.
Here's the recipe, as simple as it is. A word of caution, I used a Vita-Mix and a made for it tamping rod that prevents the plastic rod from becoming plastic sorbet, I doubt that a regular home blender will do what needs to be done.
Strawberry sorbet
1 # frozen strawberries
3/4 cup corn syrup
Directions:
Place the ingredients on the blender container. At high speed use the tamping rod to force the berries into the blades. When the mixture starts to blend on it's own allow it to continue for a few seconds. The berries should be completely blended. Scoop out the not fully frozen sorbet into a container and put it in the freezer to finish firming up. It can also be eaten directly from the blender.
_____________
I intend to make it using all sorts of fruits; melon, blueberries, peach, cherry. But I might need to change the amount of sweetener. I also intend to revisit the raspberry, but I'll first need to juice the berries (or blend and strain) to remove the seeds.
While ice cream is no longer an option I have something that is a frozen treat and I'll never miss not having ice cream.
The first was red raspberry sorbet. It was absolutely delicious but I wondered if the seeds would produce a grit in the sorbet. They did. Too, the sorbet was hardish and had to be sort of chipped out of the container. The berries I used were out of the frozen food section, so I required no ice cubes to make the sorbet freeze in the blender.
The next was a move to strawberry, again, with whole frozen berries. The flavor was great and the seeds were virtually unnoticeable. But again the sorbet was sort of hard, not like an ice cube, but too hard for easy scooping. So I got rid of the sugar in the mix and moved to corn syrup (Karo type, not high fructose corn syrup). Corn syrup doesn't freeze at normal home freezer temps. The first batch was promising but the recipe could use a bit more sweetness and could be softer. So I upped the syrup to 3/4 cup/1lb of berries. Bingo! Delicious and soft enough to scoop. But feel free to increase the syrup to get an even softer product or to make it sweeter. I took the sorbet to a get together of friends and everyone loved it and many had a second serving.
Here's the recipe, as simple as it is. A word of caution, I used a Vita-Mix and a made for it tamping rod that prevents the plastic rod from becoming plastic sorbet, I doubt that a regular home blender will do what needs to be done.
Strawberry sorbet
1 # frozen strawberries
3/4 cup corn syrup
Directions:
Place the ingredients on the blender container. At high speed use the tamping rod to force the berries into the blades. When the mixture starts to blend on it's own allow it to continue for a few seconds. The berries should be completely blended. Scoop out the not fully frozen sorbet into a container and put it in the freezer to finish firming up. It can also be eaten directly from the blender.
_____________
I intend to make it using all sorts of fruits; melon, blueberries, peach, cherry. But I might need to change the amount of sweetener. I also intend to revisit the raspberry, but I'll first need to juice the berries (or blend and strain) to remove the seeds.
While ice cream is no longer an option I have something that is a frozen treat and I'll never miss not having ice cream.