Every week when I sit down to make the grocery list, I ask Shane what he needs, and one of the first things out of his mouth is always ice cream. It’s his dessert of choice, and whether it’s homemade or store-bought, we always have some in the freezer. I guess since he’s constantly in training for the next marathon or triathlon, it’s a little easier to justify 🙂
For the other member of this house that’s not working out 20 hours a week, eating that much ice cream just isn’t feasible. It doesn’t mean I’m not tempted though, so I like to keep lighter alternatives on hand, especially in the summer when the cravings for cold desserts are strongest. I make a lot of fruit sorbets, and sometimes orange sherbet, which up until now had always been my favorite.
I’ve been on a massive lime kick lately though and had a ton sitting around so when I went to make sherbet recently, I decided to try lime. As a kid when we bought rainbow sherbet at the store I never would have dreamed of touching the lime portion, and really it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I stopped hating all things lime. Things have definitely changed – now I seek out new ways to use limes in both savory and sweet applications as much as possible!
This lime sherbet was a very good find, it’ll be in heavy rotation in my freezer this summer, probably topping orange as the go-to flavor. It’s super fresh, with a lighter texture than ice cream but a lot of the same creaminess. There’s a ton of lime flavor, yet it’s not overly tart. The sherbet is simple to make, though it did sort of have me wishing for an electric juicer by the time I got to the eighth lime, especially after the acidic juice found its way into a small cut I didn’t realize I had on one of my fingers…
I’m submitting this post to my friend Di‘s seasonal blog event, Cooking the Books. She asked us to share something to highlight our favorite book or author, and I went with my go-to source, Cook’s Illustrated. Their thoroughly researched and tested recipes rarely disappoint and I love that they share their process of getting to the end result, I always learn something!
Fresh Lime Sherbet
from The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 6-8 limes)
1 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons vodka (or Triple Sec)
2/3 cup heavy cream
Combine the zest, sugar and salt in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse 10-15 times, or until the sugar is damp and fragrant. Combine the lime juice and water in a large measuring cup, and with the food processor running, slowly add the juice/water mixture in a steady stream. Process for about 1 minute, or until the sugar has dissolved completely. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a freezer-safe bowl to remove the lime zest. Mix in the vodka and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Place in your freezer for 30-60 minutes, or until the mixture is very cold (about 40 F on an instant read thermometer). Don’t leave the mixture in there so long it freezes.
Remove the juice mixture from the freezer. Add the cream to a medium bowl and (by hand) whisk until soft peaks form. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the juice mixture (down the edge of the bowl rather than in the center) into the cream in a steady stream. Immediately add the mixture to your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (Mine took about 15-20 minutes to reach soft serve consistency.) Transfer the sherbet to an airtight container and press a piece of plastic wrap directly against the surface. Freeze for at least 3 hours (or until firm) before serving.
Makes about one quart
I usually go for ice cream too, and I haven’t had sherbert or sorbet in such a long time. But this loos delicious, amd so refreshing. I just wish it wasn’t raining so much here. :/
This is my boyfriend’s FAVORITE dessert ever! Love this!
I always avoided the lime in the rainbow sherbet too but I bet I’d love it these days! It looks so creamy and perfect!
I don’t think I’ve ever made sherbet! Clearly, I need to do something about that. =) CI is one of my favorites, too; I love reading about recipe testing. Thanks for participating!
Love this, Tracey! Citrus desserts are up there among my absolute favorites,they are so refreshing! And lime sherbet sounds so amazing!
I know the purpose/function of the alcohol in this sherbet, but is there a non-alcoholic substitution for the vodka? Maybe corn syrup will keep it creamy? It looks amazing.
It’s like key lime pie with booze in a frozen form…WOW these look good!
@Memoria – I’m not sure about corn syrup, but David Lebovitz suggests gelatin in this post:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/07/tips-for-making-1/
Let me know if you give either a try and how it works!
@Memoria – Actually on a closer reading of that post from DL, he does mention that you can replace some of the white sugar with corn syrup. Totally missed that the first time 🙂
looks fabulous wonderfully done
It’s about time again for me to make some space on the counter for the ice cream machine, and I have to try this! I like how this is a lighter alternative, and I’ve never tried lime sherbet before. Looking forward to it.
Your food always looks great!! And I love anything lime. can’t wait to try this!!
i can’t believe how easy this is! it looks soo good. i’m making it asap
It’s a shame I made vanilla ice cream yesterday when I could have prepare this sherbet! I’ll do it next week!!!
Orange sherbet is always my first choice when I go to an ice cream stand but secretly lime sherbet is near the top too… especially in the friendly’s watamelon roll 😉
Hi, Tracey, this sherbet looks amazing! I don’t have an ice cream machine, do you think I can make the sherbet without it?
@Mariane – David Lebovitz has a great post on making ice cream without a machine here:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/07/making-ice-crea-1/
My concern with the sherbet though is that the base is not as rich as the custard-based ice creams he suggests yield the best results, so you might not end up with the best texture if you make the sherbet without an ice cream maker. I’ve never tried so can’t say for sure. Let me know it turns out if you give it a shot.
cute photo! looks refreshing!
I am loving limes lately! I have a few sitting on my counter that I am trying to figure out waht do do with. This sounds so refreshing as an alternative to ice cream!
This looks fabulous! Orange sherbet was always my favorite growing up as a kid. And, lime sounds even better! I can’t wait to give this one a try!
This looks fantastic! I loveeeee sherbet and lime has always been my favorite flavor of it, so I need to give this a try.
Now I am really hungry for lime anything…anything…and especially this sherbet!!
This looks so refreshing. I love lime desserts, but can’t remember having lime sherbet. I am definitely putting this on my list to make soon.
This looks so delicious and refreshing. Love it. Congratulations on top 9 today, Tracey! 🙂
I didn’t realise that was what american sherbet was, we don’t get it in the UK. I’m going to have to try this recipe!
The Lime Sherbet looks delicious:) I used to eat it all the time – your recipe has inspired me to make some. Thanks for a great post:)
I just discovered how fun making your own ice cream is last summer, and I’m looking forward to making more this summer. I love this recipe because it is a lighter alternative to all the heavy cream that homemade ice creams have. Plus, I love lime so it’s a double win.
Thanks for testing this out! I adore limes and the description of this being creamy and not overly tart had me sold! Looking forward to trying this next time I pick up a giant bag of limes at Costco. Which I might just do this weekend! 😉
Can you make it without the alcohol?
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@Anon – You can skip the alcohol but it’s going to affect the texture. Alcohol doesn’t freeze so it keeps the sorbet from getting icy and makes it smoother and more creamy. See this article from David Lebovitz for some alternatives to alcohol that will also improve the texture:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/07/tips-for-making-1/
I love making sherbert and I love the flavors of lime so I can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Hi, Tracey, yesterday I finally tried making this recipe without an ice cream machine, and it worked fine. My sherbet didn’t get as creamy as the store-bought kind, but it was delicious nonetheless.It’s definitely a keeper.