Sorbet is a fruity frozen dessert that was invented before ice cream but tastes like it (minus the dairy). It has a soft texture and is made from fruit juice or purée that is mixed with a sugar syrup and sometimes alchohol. Italian meringue may be added to sorbet to enhance its volume.
American sherbet is a close cousin of sorbet, though it contains a small amount of milk. Sorbet is actually a Frenchified word for sorbetto, its Italian name. The Italians learned about sorbetto from the Arabs, who'd learned about it from the Persians, who'd learned about it from the Chinese. The first sorbets were made from honey, aromatics, fruit and snow.
Sorbet is as sweet as ice cream but lighter. It's eaten as a snack or dessert and is sometimes still served at elaborate French meals as a palate cleanser between courses (with a bit of alcohol, replacing the shot that was once served between plates).
What's the difference between sorbet and sherbet?
What's the difference between sorbet and sherbet?
Sorbet and sherbet are both sweet, fruity frozen desserts with a soft texture. But if sorbet is made from fruit juice or purée that is mixed with a sugar syrup and sometimes alchohol (Italian meringue may be added to sorbet to enhance its volume), its American cousin sherbet contains a small amount of milk or cream (for a total of 1 to 2 percent milk fat).
To make matters more complicated, in Turkish, sherbet is a chilled drink made with rose hips, cornelian cherries, rose or licorice and spices that's believed to have medicinal powers. In the UK, sherbet is a sweetened effervescent powder that's added to drinks like lemonade.
And if someone asks you if you'd like some sherbert, they're just making a common mistake of mispronouncing the name.
what you should know
A confession: the crisp, modern strawberries that you find in supermarkets, the ones fruit nostalgists bemoan as having no aroma, no flavor, no melting texture?
We love them. Plenty of aroma. Plenty of flavor. And while their texture is not exactly melting, we generally prefer them to the small, delicate strawberries from farmers markets, which tend to be always on the verge of rotting in the carton.
that's the point Then again, strawberries are not known for their shelf life. It's a good idea to buy strawberries the day you're going to eat them. Otherwise, keep them in the refrigerator and then hull and wash them just before you're ready to use them.
high on your own supply Growing strawberries is pretty straightforward, and when they're right outside your door, you can pick them at the height of their drunken fruitiness. We're in the heart of "pick your own" season. To find a strawberry patch near you, search at Local Harvest. Or just set out in the woods to pick fraises des bois.
match made in heaven How did strawberries and double cream (48% butterfat) become the official dish of Wimbledon? A century ago, strawberries were just coming into season at the end of June.
what you need
A strawberry huller is a unitasker that's good to have. You may dig it out from the back of the drawer only six times a year, but you'll be glad to have its clipping power when you need it.
Is there a better milkshake than a strawberry milkshake? (No.) Resist the urge to buy one of those retro drink mixer things. Just use a blender.
For the lowdown on selecting and storing strawberries, consult Aliza Green's solid Field Guide to Produce.
One of the things we love about Chez Panisse Fruit is Alice Waters' understanding that sometimes the best recipe for ripe strawberries is to stand over the sink and eat them right from the carton.
what you do
Sfloglia Trattoria caused a ruckus with the savory strawberry pasta dish upon which this unforgettable spaghetti with strawberries is based.
Ripe strawberries tossed in peppered raspberry vinegar, from Barbara Kafka's Food for Friends, plays off the classic strawberries in balsamic and black pepper.
Cook & Eat's baked strawberry pudding is easy and airy, letting the perfumed heat of the strawberries come through.
Still yanking up rhubarb? Whip up a compote and pour it over chilled strawberries with mint.
For a less indulgent take on the classic Wimbledon dessert of strawberries and cream, try a bowl of strawberries with yogurt and honey.
With cornmeal and strawberries, you could make hogwash's strawberry crostata with cornmeal crust or eggbeater's "crazy biscuit" strawberry shortcake.
Featured recipe: Speaking of shortcake, we're itching to try these strawberry chocolate chunk shortcakes. The recipe comes from Amy of Eggs on Sunday. It's the featured recipe for this week's Root Source Challenge.
A simple syrup is truly simple -- just sugar dissolved in boiling water. The water-sugar ratio varies, but the standard is two parts water to one part sugar.
Simple syrup is a bartender's staple; it's easier to swirl in a liquid than it is to add sugar directly, because the granules don't need to dissolve. Simple syrup is also handy to have on hand to sweeten iced tea or coffee. The syrup will keep almost indefinitely if stored in a tightly sealed bottle in the fridge.
Simple syrups are used to soak cakes, poach fruit, sweeten frostings and make candy. You can flavor the syrup by adding any number of other ingredients -- ginger, orange or lemon zest, mint, basil, rosemary, lavender. Just put them in once the water boils right before adding the sugar, and strain them out before bottling.
