Homemade Orange Sherbet

Photo courtesy of foodnetwork.com

We don't know how the weather has been in your area, but in ours it has been hot!  While working outside under the brutal 95 degree sun, dreams of sweet & frosty childhood delights filled our thoughts.  "What was that ice cream like stuff Nana used to give us in the summer?"  We asked while soaked in sweat.  It took a bit of time to recall what it was, sorbet!  Once indoors & chugging tea like we have been stranded in the Sahara for days, we went to trusty ol' Google to find recipes for some sorbet.  We quickly discovered that sorbet was not what we used to have, rather it was sherbet. Yum!  Next up came searching for recipes as well as adding it to that weeks shopping list on the off chance we would find real sherbet sans weird additives & all the other artificial crap that is called food in the grocery store these days.

Once at the grocery store we stocked up on fresh organic oranges, organic carrots & a few organic lemons just in case we couldn't find quality sherbet.  No surprise there was no organic sherbet in the natural food section (Side note:  Don't you just love how it's the natural food section or the health food section?  What exactly does that make the rest of the store?  The unnatural food section or the unhealthy food section?  How about the death & disease section?  Or maybe the pain & suffering section (if you buy factory "farm" meats) whatever it is, we don't want it!) so we wandered over the the huge frozen section & low & behold there was sherbet.  Not a lot of options, but it was something.  Time to check the ingredients.  Seriously how is this stuff legal?  Artificial colors, artificial flavors, binders, emulsifiers & all sorts of garbage we never use or even have in our kitchen.  We'd say it's pretty safe to assume that nearly no one has these ingredients at home!

Good thing the shopping cart was brimming with fresh organic citrus fruits & veggies.  Our kitchen appliances would be getting a workout when we got home.  Technically you don't need to use the various small appliances in this recipe, but if you do have them, you will have a better finished product if you chose to use them.  We modified a food network recipe to suit our tastes.  This recipe is fun to play with.  You can make popsicles, freeze it in individual servings, let it soften, break it up & toss it into the blender for a slushie.  Oh the possibilities!  We find it is a fabulous treat to replenish our bodies after working 12+ hour days during the dog days of summer.  No Gatorade for us, just organic fruits & veggies, fresh Jersey cow milk & sweet sweet sugar.

Equipment Needed (optional):

Juice Fountain or Juice Extractor or Manual Juicer
Food Processor
Mixing Bowl
Whisk
Ice Cream Maker
Blender
Popsicle Molds
Refrigerator Dishes

Ingredients:

2 Cups Sugar
1/4 tsp. Salt
2 Cups freshly juiced oranges (approximately 2 - 3 pounds)
1 Tbsp. freshly juiced or squeezed lemon
2 freshly juiced carrots
1 tsp. Vanilla extract or 1 Vanilla bean
1.5 Cups Whole Milk

Directions:

Peel the citrus fruits & juice along with the carrots in your juicer.  If you do not have a juicer you can freshly squeeze the citrus with a manual juicer.  You could purchase organic juice at the store but the quality & nutritional content is poor in comparison to fresh.

In the bowl of a food processor combine all of the ingredients except the milk & process until the sugar is dissolved.  If you do not have a food processor, you can hand whisk the mixture until the sugar is dissolved.  Transfer to a mixing bowl & whisk in the milk.  Place the bowl in the refrigerator for approximately one hour to get the mixture to 40 degrees or lower.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker & processes according to your ice cream makers instructions.  Transfer the sherbet into a freezer safe container (we use glass refrigerator dishes) for approx. three hours.  If you do not have a ice cream maker, pour the mixture into a freezer safe container (we use glass refrigerator dishes) & put into the freezer.  Every half hour to hour take out the mixture & hand mix it.  Repeat this process until the mixture reaches the consistency of icy sherbet.

Options: 

Pour into popsicle molds & freeze.
After freezing, put into a blender & make a slushie.



Photo courtesy of yummly.com