Oranges & Apples - A Succulent Recipe For Sorbet

Fruit in ice cream has to be one of the best ways of giving your family a tasty yet refreshing treat. Some people tend to shy away from fruit ice cream, preferring something more creamy and rich such as chocolate ice cream or caramel ice cream.  I love those ice creams too but it's great to ring the changes and try something a little different occasionally.

When I make ice cream with fruit as a main ingredient I tend to make a sorbet - such as this orange sorbet recipe which is one of my favorites. However, I always use 'regular' oranges which is why I was delighted to find a blood orange sorbet at an ice cream parlor this summer (photo above). It was really refreshing and very strong in taste - much stronger than my orange sorbet - and the color speaks for itself!

I had a similar experience with apples in ice cream. Again, I tend to use 'regular' apples (usually from my garden) which I puree to make apple sorbet. The photo below, however, is of 'green apple' ice cream which I came across in France.

 

It was not a sorbet, neither was it a cream based ice cream - something of a hybrid really! Soft and milky but with more of a sorbet texture. If I ever get back to that ice cream parlor I want to know the recipe!

Ice Cream Video - Sloe Gin Sorbet

Ice cream is always popular at this time of year. It may be cold with snow on the way but I find few people are deterred from enjoying an ice cream treat. That is why I regularly make a batch of homemade ice cream for my family, whatever the time of year!

Last week was one such occasion - I decided to make 4 batches of ice cream using my own ice cream recipes.

Recipe 1 - Sloe Gin Sorbet

Recipe 2 - Mulled Wine Sorbet

Recipe 3 - White Chocolate and Banana Ice Cream

Recipe 4 - Coffee, Rum and Walnut Ice Cream

All of these make ideal Christmas ice cream and the sheer variety means that there should be something for everyone - including adults partial to a little alcohol in their dessert!

Here is my sloe gin sorbet churning in the ice cream maker - within 20 minutes it was ready to serve.

Alcoholic ice cream has been in the news recently with one or two commercial ice cream producers launching some what they call "alcohol-infused" ice creams. Perhaps I'm becoming cynical as the years go on but I'm not so sure that commercially produced ice cream should be taking this route. After all, ice cream's predominant value has always been perceived as 'family' orientated. My own childhood memories of ice cream all relate to simple and innocent, fun-related things - from the first Mr. Whippy ice cream truck that came down our street to the first vanilla ice cream cone I enjoyed with a chocolate flake stuck in it - yum! If I were a child today, being confronted with the myriad of marketing techniques now available to commercial ice cream producers, I'm not so sure I'd be growing up with the same, wonderfully warm and innocent conception of the real fun of ice cream. My view? When a product is on a 'big stage' keep it simple and fun. If you want something more complicated, get into the kitchen and make it yourself at home - there are plenty of recipes out there!