Light, refreshing, cleansing, tasty and enjoyable. Sorbet is a light dessert to lick the heat, a refreshing intermission between courses to cleanse the palate and, more often than not, enjoyable to boot.
Most people wouldn’t know Antonio Latini from a bar of soap. Latini, the Italian 17th-century chef of the Spanish consul to Naples is credited with leaving behind the first known written recipes for both sorbet and ice cream as we know them today. This doesn’t mean that sorbet didn’t appear earlier in history; in fact, through historic records it is known that across the Arab world they consumed something called sherbet, a frozen flavored dessert, and that sorbet-like dishes were known to have been popular with royalty in ancient Persia some 2500 years ago.
Most home-made sorbet recipes contain an alcoholic beverage for flavour enhancement, but more importantly to prevent the lightly frozen dessert from becoming an inedible block of ice.
The only downside of consuming too much sorbet and too quickly is the dreaded “brain freeze”, so enjoy your frozen treat with caution.
Ingredients (makes a little less than two litres)
- 950 ml grapefruit juice
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup Campari
- Juice of two lemons
- Juice of two oranges
Method
Whisk everything together and churn in a home ice-cream machine if you have one, or simply pour into a suitable container and place in your freezer. Needs to freeze for 12–16 hours before enjoying.
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