This orange sherbet was the best defence against the summer heat we went through this year. It is not perfect, there are problems with it but in the end, who cares? It helped cool us down and when combined with homemade vanilla ice cream, it was like snacking on a Creamsicle. Dreamy…
The Recipe
This recipe is based on an orange sherbet recipe by Alton Brown. People complained it was too sweet so I made just a 1/2 cup of syrup (1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar simmered together for 5 minutes) with some lemon juice to help give it tang.
I zest a few oranges to make sure to add that extra flavour and flecks of colour to the sherbet.
I bought this Manual Lever Press Citrus Juicer at a flea market this summer and knew this was the perfect recipe to test on the product. I juice a ton of oranges to make 2 cups of fresh orange juice.
When my shoulders aren’t hurting, this is actually kind of fun. My only complaint? Sometimes the stainless steel glass wobbles a bit.
But it did get out the juice bit time! Totally worth the $15 I spent.
Not exactly easy to squeeze out 2 cups of orange juice (a workout for my sensitive muscles) but I was thrilled the press helped make it possible. No way I could have done it without it.
I added the orange juice to the 1/2 cup of lemon syrup.
1 added 1 tsp of orange blossom water. If you do not have some, you could always add some natural orange extract.
Orange is a very subtle flavour so I also added 1 tsp of vanilla for additional depth.
Now you are supposed to add 1 1/2 cups of very cold whole milk but I only had skim. I knew this might cause problems with curdling.
And it did! So instead of chilling everything down in the fridge so it is super cold I just put it in the ice cream maker.
I did churn but after 30 minutes on a brutally hot and humid day, it did not get as light as I wanted it too.
Foodie Results
Let’s just say carving out these cute sherbet spheres was a bit of a challenge! In fact, my sherbet was as hard as a rock.
I did not panic. In fact every time I carved/chiselled some out I either put it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to loosen it up or just let it sit at room temperature for a while.
It was very light and delicious. Creamier than a sorbet but lighter than ice cream and pretty guilt-free. I used up all the oranges that were taking up room in my fridge and got to test my new-to-me Manual Lever Press Citrus Juicer which worked great.
We seriously snacked on this with homemade vanilla ice cream all August and I was sad when it was all gone. I made an Orange Julius milkshake with it too (mind blowing) and it was great in mango smoothies.
I know summer is coming to a close but I think there will be more frozen treats in my foodie future! When they taste this good and are so forgiving, why not?!
Wow, that is one SERIOUS juicer!