Sorbet

Submitted by derMoerder

This is the method and basic ratio to make a sorbet of most fruit.

Ingredients (Yields ~1.25qts)

• ~400 g Sugar
• ~400 g Water
• ~453 g Fruit or Fruit Purée

Procedure

• Make a simple syrup from the sugar and water. Chill completely.
• Place the simple syrup into the blender along with most of the fruit. Blend very thoroughly. In this example I used pineapple and added 2 Tbsp of rum with the fruit.

• Now we need to balance the fruit solids with the sugar syrup here to yield an appropriate sugar density. Having this in the right range will ensure a smooth-freezing sorbet, as too much or too little sugar in this solution will make it freeze to loose or too hard respectively. You can either pick up a hydrometer/saccharometer(handy if you will do this a lot), or take a few seconds to measure it roughly with a normal raw egg from your refrigerator. For your reference if using a hydrometer, we're aiming for a baume reading of 18-20°.
• Wash and dry an egg. Drop it gently into the base and watch how much shows above the surface. It should be a little smaller than a quarter. If the egg is sinking too much, you'll need to thicken the base by adding more fruit. If the egg is floating too much you can thin it out by adding more syrup, or water if the base is already too sweet. Balance it out until the egg is floating at the right level and it tastes good. Make sure you remove the egg before doing any more blending!
• Season with a pinch of salt and balance the sweetness by taste with an acid like lemon or lime juice, or even vinegar if appropriate. The acid may not be necessary for a very tart fruit, like cherries. In this example I added the juice of one lime.
• Follow your ice cream maker's instructions to freeze and then store in the freezer.