Easy watermelon and lime sorbet makes a refreshing treat
Making homemade ice cream has been a summer family tradition since my childhood. Back then, we put the oak-barrel ice cream freezer out under a big shade tree, packed it down with ice and salt and took turns turning the crank as the bees buzzed in the background and our mouths watered in anticipation.
With the abundance of small electric ice cream makers with various freezing methods that don't involve ice at all, ice cream making has elevated to a new art form. If you Google "homemade ice cream" or "homemade sorbet," you come up with tens of thousands of suggestions and recipes in a split second. So why would you need another one?
Today's recipe is not so much a recipe as it is a suggestion or formula. And because it is a sorbet, you don't need an ice cream maker, just a shallow pan and a standard freezer. Of course, an ice cream maker speeds up the process and is not as hands-on, but it's nice to know you can make this without special equipment. Sorbet is fruit juice and simple syrup, so you can experiment with just the right fruit combinations. Today I am using watermelon and lime. It is so refreshing and so easy that this may very well become your favorite, just as it has become mine.
Just remember to start with a 1-to-3 ratio of sugar to water for simple syrup and add enough fruit juices and additional water if necessary to bring the volume to 1 quart. Then freeze it either in a shallow pan, scraping the frozen crystals to the center every 30 minutes - until it is to your desired consistency - or pop it in an ice cream maker and process according the manufacturer's instructions. Enjoy!
• Alicia Ross can be contacted at tellus@kitchenscoop.com or www.kitchenscoop.com