Sorbets and granitas: almost frozen
April 22nd, 2008
A sorbet of one kind or another makes a perfect ending to rich meals. Sometimes, when I’m feeling lazy, I use an ice cream maker, the electric kind. I have the mixture prepared and refrigerated, and then I freeze it as we eat.
In the absence of an ice cream maker, you can freeze sorbet in a metal ice cube tray. It takes longer to freeze, but is also easy. Just before the semi-cubes are fully frozen, throw them into a food processor or mixer. Put back in the freezer until set. All of these are best freshly made.
The most basic element of most sorbets is the simple syrup, a combination of sugar and water brought to the boil and boiled for five minutes. The most ordinary mixture is one part water to one part sugar, but this can vary to two parts water to one part sugar (or alternatively two parts sugar to one part water). Remember: the greater the amount of sugar (or of alcohol) the slower the freezing.
A lighter syrup—less sugar—should be used with small amounts of liquid flavoring, for instance lemon juice and grated lemon zest. Heavier syrups should be used with a large amount of fruit puree such as pineapple (one of my favorites) or strawberry, usually with lemon juice added to maintain an acid balance.
Unlike a sorbet, a granita is not meant to be smooth, but somewhat crystalline. It is usually made in an ice cube tray without the dividers (a metal pie plate would work as well). As the mixture nears freezing, it is mushed up with a fork. This is done again just before serving. Granita is often served with whipped cream and a straw.
A less common but sensational technique is to us an Italian meringue instead of a simple syrup. The meringue is also cooked on top of the stove, but it is more work than a simple syrup. It’s also more stable and will make the sorbet keep longer. The same procedure will work with other fruit purées.
Recipe: Chocolate Sorbet (Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology)
Recipe: Lemon Granita (Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology)
Recipe: Extra Smooth And Fluffy Strawberry Sorbet (Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology)
Related: What’s the best tasting sorbet you’ve ever had? (Cookthink blog)
(This is the fourth installment of The Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology.)
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:26 am
I’ve always thought of “meringue” as the light, crispy shells. How is this Italian meringue different?
April 29th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
The familiar light, crisp shells are, of course, made by combining raw egg whites with granulated sugar and then baking the resulting mixture at low temperature until dry and hard. “Italian meringue” refers to a slightly different technique which combines egg whites with a hot sugar syrup. The heat of the syrup partially cooks the egg whites, giving a different texture to the meringue (more spongy and less brittle, I believe). In this case, the (unbaked) Italian meringue mixture would inhibit the sorbet mixture from freezing completely solid or crysallizing, giving body and aeration and smoothness to the sorbet.
The following recipe illustrates the difference between French and Italian meringue techniques:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/109357
October 19th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
There are three types of meringue, the most common (french) is as mentioned above, the other two are italian meringue and swiss meringue.
Italian meringue is the stuff you get on top of a lemon meringue pie, and is made with a soft ball sugar syrup, slowly poured over hard peak egg whites, and beaten until cool.
can’t remember the swiss meringue:-)