Those of you who’re of a certain age, can you recall those choose-your-own-adventure books in which you could select a different course of action and your story veered accordingly, leaving you squarely responsible for what happens in a boldly existential way? This fruit sorbet is like that. Choose a fruit, choose whether to use an ice cream maker or not, and then choose how many scoops it takes to satisfy you.–Renee Schettler Rossi
Easy Fruit Sorbet
Ingredients
- 3 cups fruit juice
- 2 1/2 cups cold water
- 1/2 to 1 cup granulated sugar, depending on how sweet your fruit juice is
Instructions
- In a saucepan, whisk together the fruit juice, water, and 1/2 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let cook until the sugar is fully dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, pour the fruit sorbet mixture into a container, and place in the refrigerator to chill completely.
- Take a tiny sip of the chilled fruit sorbet mixture and, if a sweeter concoction is desired, add some or all of the remaining sugar and simmer until dissolved. Repeat the cooling process.
- If using an ice cream maker, freeze the fruit sorbet mixture according to your ice cream maker’s directions.If not using an ice cream maker, place the fruit sorbet mixture in a shallow metal baking pan and stash it in the freezer. Once the fruit sorbet is frozen, break it into chunks and purée it in a blender or food processor until creamy.
Notes
Easy Fruit Sorbet Variation
Spring Strawberry Sorbet Purée 4 cups (520 g) hulled and quartered strawberries, 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) water, and 3 tablespoons (45 ml) fresh lemon juice together in a blender. Substitute this strawberry purée in place of the fruit juice and water in the recipe above and use only 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar. Add 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest to the saucepan along with everything else. Summer Blackberry Sorbet Toss 4 cups (560 g) blackberries in a blender along with 2 1/2 cups cold water and 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lemon juice. Purée until smooth. Press the mixture through a sieve and discard the seeds. Make the fruit sorbet as directed above, using the blackberry purée in place of the juice and water in the recipe above. Fall Pear Sorbet Toss 2 pounds (908 g) cored and quartered ripe pears in a blender, add the 2 1/2 cups water in a blender and puree until smooth. Make the fruit sorbet as directed above, using the pear purée in place of the juice and water and adding the sugar to the saucepan as directed Winter Citrus Sorbet Substitute 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) fresh orange juice, 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) fresh tangerine juice, and 1/2 cup (120 ml) fresh lemon juice for the fruit juice in the recipe above. Use only 2 1/4 cups water and 1/2 cup sugar and add the zest of 1/2 small orange to the saucepan. Continue as directed above.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This is a great recipe. It requires few ingredients, utilizes seasonal fruit, and is easy to make. I especially appreciate that it’s doable without an ice cream maker, though that took some extra effort. I tried the strawberry sorbet and used 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar. I jumped the gun and froze the sorbet mixture pretty much immediately after cooking (oops—skipped the refrigerator!). That worked fine—it didn’t have a negative impact on the sorbet though it did make for some interesting freezer maneuvers (think hot pan of fruit juice and trying to fit it in an overstuffed freezer).
I left the fruit sorbet in the freezer overnight before inverting it onto a cutting board and chopping it into large chunks. I tried using my regular blender initially, but that proved incapable of achieving the proper sorbet consistency, so I switched over to my immersion blender, which worked perfectly. From then on, my process was take a few frozen chunks, briefly warm them in the microwave or a water bath, chop/mash them a bit smaller with a fork, and then immersion blend to a creamy consistency. I served the sorbet topped with mini chocolate chips and sweetened coconut flakes for a little more texture and sweetness. I’ll definitely be making this again; I’m especially eager to try the citrus variation.
I made the fruit sorbet using cherry juice. Being that the juice was rather sweet, I used only 1/2 cup sugar and made it exactly according to the recipe. I do not have an ice cream maker and used the alternative method of freezing it and pureeing it in a blender. The taste was excellent. The finished product was icy rather than creamy, but it was a delightful end to a heavy meal. I will definitely make this again and look forward to trying different fruits and juices. It took slightly over 1 hour in the freezer. I have no doubt this would have been better made in an ice cream maker but it was still delicious.
The end product was great. I made the three-citrus winter version. I used Tropicana Orange Tangerine juice, fresh lemon juice, water, and close to 1 full cup sugar along with the zest of a whole orange. I don’t think all the zest was necessary, half would’ve been plenty.
I chilled it overnight and then put it in my Cuisinart ice cream maker. It froze in 10 to 12 minutes, which is less time than it takes ice cream. I then froze it overnight again and the sorbet was a little tart, sweet, and very icy and very refreshing! I like this recipe very much and it was quick and easy.
We made the strawberry variation and my whole family loved it! I really wanted to make this recipe because I do not have an ice cream maker and here, finally, was a recipe for a frozen treat that didn’t require an ice cream maker.
This recipe was very easy and quick to throw together. I recommend breaking the frozen mixture into pieces of only a few inches to have the easiest time getting a smooth consistency without stray chunks in the food processor. After processing, the sorbet was ready to eat but I froze it for another hour before serving. At this point, the consistency was very similar to sorbet I’ve bought at the store and let soften a bit before scooping out of the container—perfect!
