Everyone has a favorite apple recipe, and clearly this sorbet fits the bill. Says Frank Browning and Sharon Silva, “This big batch of refreshing pink apple sorbet—its lovely color the result of cooking the apples unpeeled—was gobbled right up by a legion of none-too-shy friends at one of our periodic apple recipe tastings.” They go on to say that you can easily cut the apple sorbet recipe in half, which, happily, leaves the hardworking cook the rest of the wine to sip. Don’t be cheap when it comes to buying the Gewurtzraminer or your fancy sorbet will taste like sherbet dished up at a freeway truck stop. Who are we to argue?
In their book, the authors also offer up a fair maiden note: In nineteenth-century “paring bees” it was common practice for young women to toss a long strand of peeled apple skin over their shoulder, then take a peek, hoping that its cursive curls would form the first letter of the name of their future betrothed. While we haven’t gone that far (at least not yet), we have peeled our share of apples for recipes. And this one, we’re happy to say, has become our new favorite.–LC Editors
Apple Sorbet with Ginger Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 pounds assorted red-skinned apples, such as Stayman Winesap, Jonathan, Braeburn, or Northern Spy
- 1 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger
- 1 bottle (750 ml) good-quality Gewürztraminer
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Directions
- 1. To make the apple sorbet recipe, cut the apples lengthwise into sixths, but do not peel or core. Place them in a heavy saucepan. Lightly crush the ginger under the flat side of a knife to release its flavor, and add it to a the pan along with about 2 cups of the wine. Place saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook until the apples are soft, about 15 minutes.
- 2. Add the sugar to the apple mixture and stir until it dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Scoop out and discard the ginger.
- 3. Carefully pass the cooked apples and their liquid through a food mill, fitted with the fine disk, placed over a bowl. Stir in the remaining wine, cover the bowl, and refrigerate until the mixture is chilled, about 2 hours.
- 4. Transfer the cool mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. Spoon the apple sorbet into a container, cover, and place it in the freezer until firm, about 2 hours.
- 5. Spoon the sorbet into clear glass bowls to serve. Bask in the glory of the adulation.
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- Spiced Apple Cider Sorbet from The Kitchen
- Blood Orange Sorbet from David Lebovitz
- Blueberry Ice Cream from Leite's Culinaria
- Star Anise-Lemon Sorbet from Leite's Culinaria
Apple Sorbet with Ginger Recipe © 2010 Frank Browning and Sharon Silva. Photo © 2010 Leigh Beisch. All rights reserved.
[Maria Peplowski] OMG this is so much better than I’d expected! The sorbet is smooth and a very pretty peachy color and really very easy to make. The ginger flavour is just in the background, making the apples even more “appley”. Since the suggested apples aren’t available right now in our area, I used another type of apple, Elstar, the only sweet-tart one at our local farmstand. This apple is quite sweet and the sorbet was actually a touch too sweet for me. I would maybe mix apple varieties next time I make this, using maybe a very tart apple like Granny Smith with something like the Elstar. In any case, I really loved this sorbet.
This is just gorgeous.
Thank you, Lora. We swooned when we saw it, too.