GRAPE SHERBET
During the hot and humid (and often very dry) days of August
garden work slows down outside but continues inside with canning. It is while working over a hot stove and
keeping jars filled to can that I am most thankful for central air. Years ago when I was younger and my children
small we had a large window unit to try and combat the summer heat that never
could keep up with the canning season. By
the end of the day the last thing I wanted to do was cook supper after working
at the sweltering stove all day so I’d often pack sandwiches and our family
would head down to the nearby park to try and cool off. Sometimes I would grill hot dogs or
hamburgers for supper on our small grill in the front lawn under the largest
tree- before grilling outdoors became fashionable- just to get out of the hot kitchen.
Today with central air, I’ll take a break from canning in the afternoon indoors
and enjoy an ice cream cone- something the younger generation takes for
granted. Growing up ice cream cones and
homemade ice cream was a rare treat.
I’ve always loved the taste of sherbet fascinated by its
rainbow array of colors and flavors. To
my dismay this summer I noticed that sherbet was nowhere to be found in the ice
cream frozen section of the stores. I
don’t know if the demand for sherbet has decreased until the managers have decided
not to stock it anymore or what. So I was quite delighted while organizing my
pile of recipes to try one hot afternoon to discover an article and recipe on
how to make sherbet. I couldn’t believe how simple sherbet is to prepare. All it takes is fruit juice and a simple
syrup water combination that you freeze together. I had just harvested and made
grape juice earlier in the week and had some juice left over after make grape
jelly. Even though grape juice wasn’t
listed in the fruits (I can’t imagine how it was left out considering all the
fruits you’d first think of like strawberry, blueberry, orange etc they had
grapefruit, watermelon, and even tea) I decide to make some Grape Sherbet. My Grape
Sherbet was absolutely delicious and turned out perfect. Talk about a classy desert! Needless to say I
am hooked on making sherbet.
GRAPE SHERBET
2 c grape juice or any other fruit you desire that is pureed
and chilled
2 c simple sugar syrup
Combine the juice and syrup together with a Wisk. To make
sure the mixture has the right density drop an egg into the mixture (I washed
the egg first) and submerge it completely.
If the egg floats to the top with only part of the shell showing about
the size of a quarter the mixture is ready to freeze. If the egg doesn’t float add more sugar
syrup. If too much egg is exposed add
more juice. Pour into an ice cream maker
and freeze like you would ice cream. The
finished sherbet should be smooth and thick. Freeze 2 hrs or overnight before
serving.
Tip: To make a simple sugar syrup bring to a boil
equal amounts of water and sugar (like 2 c of sugar and 2c of water) and then
let cool!
