Easy Strawberry Sorbet Recipe - Only 4 Ingredients! - Ice Cream From Scratch (2024)

FAQs

Can sorbet be made without an ice cream maker? ›

Making home-made sorbet is easier than you think. You don't even need an ice cream machine! It's basically just frozen fruit puree sweetened with sugar and water. You can also add herbs, chocolate or wines and liqueurs to flavor the sorbet.

The Master Ratio

If you don't know the exact sugar content of your fruit, the best thing you can do is play it safe. A sugar concentration between 20% to 30% will generally produce a scoopable, creamy sorbet. * Add less and your sorbet is too icy to scoop; add more and it may never freeze.

Without fat from dairy or eggs, it's the suspension of sugar within the fruit purée that allows the sorbet to churn into something with a creamy mouthfeel. You need 20-30% sugar in your sorbet, which will come from your fruit plus some added sugar.

2 quarts whole strawberries should yield 1 quart of purée. Add sugar and blend for 30 seconds. Add lemon and salt, blend to incorporate, and adjust to taste. Strain purée and transfer to refrigerator; chill for 2 to 3 hours until very cold.

Too little sugar and you end up with loads of crunchy ice crystals. Some experts swear by a ratio of 4 cups puréed fruit to 1 cup sugar. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, place the sorbet mixture in a sealed container in the very coldest part of your freezer (usually at the bottom and back).

"Sorbet is made with fruit but no dairy (eggs or milk/cream) so it's generally vegan-friendly and suits those with egg or dairy allergies, too," she says. The pureness of the fruit makes it icy and refreshing, and it won't be silky or rich in its texture as some other kinds of ice creams and sherberts may be.

Tapioca starch (or corn starch): tapioca starch fis our go-to starch to thicken a sorbet mixture, for the velvety texture it creates. If you do not have tapioca starch, you can use corn starch instead, which is not the same, but it still works.

At its heart, sorbet is simply a frozen fruit syrup, but you can ramp it up a level and include whipped egg white or even mascarpone for a creamier result.

The quality of the water is important as well — if your water has a bad aftertaste, so will your sorbet — so we recommend using bottled. The optional egg white helps to stabilize, emulsify, and preserve the texture of the sorbet if you are going to keep it in your freezer for a few days.

Since alcohol doesn't freeze, the vodka helps add smoothness to the the crunchy, icy texture of the sorbet. I made mine with Heritage Distilling Company's vodka. Triple distilled with a smooth finish, it's the perfect addition to this refreshing dessert.

What happens if you use too much sugar in the sorbet? ›

If there is too much sugar, the sorbet will be too sweet and you risk the sorbet turning grainy. The puree will also turn into a solid fruit block after you freeze. The easiest way to enjoy a block-free sorbet is to leave it out to thaw or run it in your microwave on defrost mode.

Also, both sugar and alcohol lower the freezing temperature of sorbet, if you had larger-than-usual quantities of either in the recipe, this will slow the freezing.

Sherbet and sorbet are both fruity frozen treats whose names are often incorrectly used interchangeably. The main difference? Sherbet contains dairy while sorbet has no dairy.

1 to 2 tablespoons liqueur (this is for flavor, but it also prevents the sorbet from freezing solid. Alcohol won't freeze, so it is great insurance that you will have a soft sorbet.

Sorbets are a simple combination of fresh fruit or fruit juice with sugar. That's it! About two pounds of fruit will be perfect for making a quart of sorbet — that comes out to about five cups of chopped fruit. A little more or less is fine; this is a basic formula, not an exact science.

Method: Ice Bath and Hand Mixer

About this method: With this method, you're basically building a temporary ice cream machine. Ice and salt go into your biggest bowl, while an ice cream base goes into another bowl. You set the ice cream bowl into the ice and mix it with a hand mixer as it freezes.

Method #4: Food Processor or Blender Method (best method!)

This is my favorite way to make ice cream without an ice cream maker. Make any ice cream base according to the recipe directions. Instead of churning in an ice cream maker, pour into a ziptop bag, squeeze out all air, and seal. Freeze, lying flat, until solid.