It may be the dead of winter but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped craving ice cream. I’m definitely eating it less often than I do in the warmer weather, but from time to time nothing else will do when it comes time for a snack. Though mint chocolate chip will probably always be my first choice, sometimes I just want something totally different. That’s exactly what happened recently when the urge to make ice cream struck. As I was trying to decide on a flavor, I saw the giant bag of oranges in my fridge and it hit me – sherbet!! I love orange sherbet, and have been meaning to make it for a while. Why not try it now in the midst of citrus season? I can’t find much to love about winter but the wealth of gorgeous citrus fruit is definitely a highlight.
It turns out that making sherbet is really easy once you get all of the oranges juiced. I don’t have a juicer so I was doing it by hand, and have to say it was sort of fun, maybe even therapeutic, up until about the 6th orange. The 7th and 8th were even less fun. All I could think about was watching episodes of the Barefoot Contessa where she uses the fancy electric juicer and makes it look so easy 🙂 Oh, quick tip – be sure to zest your oranges before you juice them. Even though the recipe doesn’t call for much zest, you can freeze the leftovers so you’ll be all set next time you come across a recipe that calls for orange zest. I just throw mine in a resealable bag – I’ve got lemon, lime and orange zest stockpiled in my freezer.
The first thing you’ll notice about this sherbet is that it doesn’t have the intense orange color you’re probably used to seeing from the ones in the store. I actually enjoy those faux orange versions, but this one blows those out of the water – it’s far more delicious than any of the store-bought varieties I’ve tried. The flavor is bright – very reminiscent of a creamsicle – and the texture is light. I’m still on the fence about the pieces of orange zest in the sherbet; they looked pretty but I didn’t love the stringy texture. So, I might leave them out next time, but otherwise, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Orange Sherbet
from Alton Brown (via FoodNetwork.com)
7 oz (1 cup) sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons orange zest
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice (approx 2-3 pounds oranges)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups very cold whole milk
Combine all of the ingredients except the milk in the bowl of a food processor (a blender would work too). Process until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the milk. Whisk to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. You can serve immediately, but the sherbet will be soft. For a firmer texture, transfer to an airtight container and place in your freezer for at least a few hours.
One of my FAVORITE things to eat!
this brings me back to my childhood (where we of course had the screaming orange version…), and it sounds like it could be actually good for you! I’m sometimes put off from using my ice cream maker because of all the cream…
Beautiful sherbet! Have to laugh about juicing. I was like “Oh, that’s good-she enjoyed it! Oh–wait…” haha! I was lucky-my KA food processor came with a juicer attachment. I don’t use it often, but when I need it, so nice.
I agree about the zest! I blogged a lemon lime sherbet a while back. My suggestion? After zesting, run a knife through it to get smaller pieces. And I freeze zest, too, for zest emergencies!
For some strange reason I eat more ice cream in the winter than summer. Your sherbert is just the perfect reminder of summer and looks so easy to make!
Simply awesome and vibrant. I love this, pretty refreshing I bet.
i love imagining you eating sherbert while it snows….that is a good way to fight back against winter!
What a great idea! We just got a huge bag of oranges too…now I just need an ice cream maker! LOL!
Ice cream looks just too good.. Really tempting in such hot summer evening I’m having at the moment 🙂
What a great idea! I’ve been eating a lot of oranges lately and they have been so delicious. Orange sherbet would be really tasty made with in-season oranges!
looks refreshing! my mom is always surprised i do all my juicing by hand too 😉
The sherbet really looks sweet and tempting. Can you save some for me. Well on the second thought after a raid from the fridge, I’ve got all the ingredients, lucky. Gotta serve this for friday treats.
Great recipe! I’m with you.. I can eat ice cream all year long. I have never made sherbet, though, so I’ll have to give this one a try.
And, I have to say that just the other day I was watching Barefoot Contessa and admiring her juicer. 🙂
Hmmm – yummy yummy! No matter what the temperature is outside, I can enjoy frozen treats any time of year. This sounds delicious. Thanks for the note about the zest. I will give this a try and possibly leave out the zest as well.
Yum! That looks really good!