Sunday, July 03, 2005

Sorbet Update - More Melons!

I'm obsessive. Not entirely satisfied with the honeydew sorbet and mango combination earlier created, I knew I would be itching to get to the supermarket and grab a rockmelon and a watermelon to attempt another round of sorbet creation. And the picture below is the result of such obsessive behaviour - a medley of melon sorbets, honeydew sorbet at the base with an orangey rockmelon sorbet in the background and finished with a red watermelon sorbet in the foreground!

Melon-Medley The rockmelon sorbet made from puree of half a melon combined with half a cup of orange juice and syrup, was a real delight. The watermelon sorbet from puree of slightly less than half a melon combined with half a cup of vodka and syrup did not fare too well, with too much ice-crystals formed. Have thus concluded that the texture of the fruit puree is important to the texture of the sorbet (puree should generally be thick and viscous). Watermelons have too much water content, and it probably would have been better if I had just used frozen watermelon balls instead of freezing watermelon juice which was what I got from pureeing half the melon in the blender. Looks like I have another round of experiment to carry out - soak watermelon balls in vodka and freeze?

9 Comments:

Blogger eat stuff said...

You could just call it a granita ;)
They look so good.... mmm rockmelon!

7/06/2005 07:40:00 PM  
Blogger Jocelyn:McAuliflower said...

Excellent idea! I've been just waiting to do the same thing over here. Our melons aren't quite ready though. I also just found a Ben and Jerry's recipe for canteloup ice cream- drooooll!

7/07/2005 07:50:00 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

hi clare - watermelon granita, good idea!
hi mcauliflower - canteloup ice-cream, hmmmm.. sounds great, please share after you've made it!

7/07/2005 08:55:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi eatzycath,

It's always a joy to find a fellow icecream/sorbet lover. The vodka might have been the misbehaving element in your watermelon sorbet. Try combining 3.5cups puree with 1 cup simple syrup (ratio 1kg sugar to 1liter water) and 2 tbs lemon juice. Churn. Then add a splash of vodka to each portion just before serving.

7/07/2005 11:35:00 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

hi S - I think you're right! Just read the instructions to my ice-cream maker and it had a warning on the addition of alcohol to ingredients (didn't explain why, though).

7/11/2005 06:06:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ever notice how a bottle of vodka stored in the freezer doesn't solidify? The water in your mixture froze first. If you add a lot of alcohol into your puree, you end up with big ice crystals kind of swimming in alcohol. You can add a little alcohol (usually teaspoonsful rather than a generous half cup). But I've found that the best way to add a healthy dose of alcohol is to only add it just before serving.

7/12/2005 11:25:00 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

hi S, well errh, I've never actually had an excuse to put a bottle of vodka in the freezer but I take your word for it. Like your tip about adding the alcohol before serving - sounds sensible.

7/12/2005 11:55:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hee, you should try storing your vodka in the freezer. Makes it taste super YUM! Especially Stoli Vanilla Vodka or even better, infuse your own. The problem is that there're always a million and one other things that need to be stored in that tiny little freezer too, right?

7/13/2005 11:41:00 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

hi S - hmm...brain working full time now processing your idea. Yah - freezer very tight now, what with the ice-cream maker tub sitting inside as well!!

7/13/2005 11:51:00 AM  

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