Sorbet is easy, refreshing, and delicious. For fruit sorbets, the key to ultimate deliciousness is using overripe, super-soft fruit. Those raspberries that are mushy and drippy? The strawberries that squash to the touch? The peaches that are so ripe they are incredibly aromatic? They are great for sorbet! A spritz of fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt in the base bump up and brighten the fruit flavors. Bonus: All of our sorbets are vegan.
Some tips for sorbet making:
You’ll need to make and chill some simple syrup before preparing the sorbet.
For best results, eat the sorbet within 2 weeks of making.
A shot of tequila or rum (about 1 ounce) added to some of the following recipes brings life to the party!
Active times do not include the making of the base.
Makes about: 2½ cups; 2 cups simple syrup | Active time: 10 minutes
The first step in making sorbet is simple syrup.
Make Syrup: in a 4-quart saucepan, combine sugar and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and chill, about 30 minutes. (Syrup keeps, refrigerated in an airtight container, for up to 3 months.)
Make Base: Combine simple syrup, ½ cup water, lemon juice, and salt in a bowl. Stir well. (Base keeps, refrigerated in an airtight container, for up to 3 months.)
Makes about: 1 quart | Active time: 15 to 20 minutes
Powerfully citrus and gently sour, this combination is invigorating. The herbaceous flavors evoke a scented breeze from the fields of southern France. It’s the vegan version of Meyer Lemon Gelato.
In a 4-quart saucepan, combine sugar, thyme, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook just until sugar dissolves. Let cool to room temperature, and then strain syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.
Add lemon juice and ½ cup water to lemon thyme syrup.
Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add lemon zest in last few seconds of churning, just before sorbet comes out of machine.
Scrape into an airtight storage container. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
Makes about: 1 quart | Active time: 15 to 20 minutes
The perky heat from ginger brings a peppery edge to this sorbet. It also helps wake up the sour and sweet of the blackberries.
In a blender or food processor, puree blackberries and ginger. Add Sorbet Base and blend to combine.
Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Scrape into an airtight storage container. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
Makes about: 1 quart | Active time: 15 to 20 minutes
A sweet, tart, and sour combo, with a deep ruby color, this sorbet is a great palate cleanser.
In a bowl, combine Sorbet Base, orange juice, and ½ cup water. Mix well.
Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Scrape into an airtight storage container. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
Vegan Ginger Molasses, Double Chocolate Cookies, or Snickerdoodle
Orange Julius Shulman: Vegan Ginger Molasses Cookies + Blood Orange Sorbet (see Building the Perfect Sandwich)
An American architectural photographer, Julius Shulman was known for documenting the work of architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Charles Eames and for furthering the popularity of the midcentury modern style in the 1940s to 1960s. Shulman’s archive can be found at The Getty Center in Los Angeles.
Makes about: 1 quart | Active time: 20 to 25 minutes
Most people don’t realize that dark chocolate is vegan—it contains no milk. This sorbet has the decadence of a chocolate ice cream with the added bonus of being dairy-free.
In a 4-quart saucepan, whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt, and 2½ cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until sugar dissolves.
Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted, then stir in vanilla extract.
Mix well with an immersion blender or a hand mixer until smooth.
Pour into a clean airtight container and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. If the mixture has become too thick to pour into machine, whisk to thin it out first.
Scrape into an airtight storage container. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
Makes about: 1 quart | Active time: 15 to 20 minutes
The juniper flavor of the spirit takes wonderfully to the sorbet format: It’s floral, effervescent, bitter, and dry.
Combine Sorbet Base, tonic water, lime juice, and juniper extract in a bowl.
Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add gin during last 2 minutes of churning. Add zest and churn for a few seconds more.
Scrape into an airtight storage container. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
Gin & Arquitec-tonic-a: Snickerdoodle Cookies + Gin & Tonic Sorbet (see Building the Perfect Sandwich)
You can get juniper berry extract from www.amazon.com.
Makes about: 1 quart | Active time: 15 to 20 minutes
Delicately sweet lychee latches easily onto the rose hip and cucumber profile of Hendrick’s gin. The result is a mellowly tropical eye-opener.
In a blender or food processor, puree lychees and their juice. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.
Add Sorbet Base and ½ cup water to lychee puree and stir to combine.
Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add gin during last 2 minutes of churning.
Scrape into an airtight storage container. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
Vegan Ginger Molasses or Gluten-Free Coconut Almond Chocolate Chip
Lychees are found in Asian markets and in the international foods aisles of large supermarkets.
Makes about: 1 quart | Active time: 15 to 20 minutes
White peaches have a gentler, more floral sweetness than their yellow counterparts. Their flavor pairs nicely with prosecco, which gives this sorbet a nice pop.
In a bowl, combine peach puree, Sorbet Base, and ½ cup water and mix well.
Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add prosecco during last 2 minutes of churning.
Scrape into an airtight storage container. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
Snickerdoodle or Vegan Ginger Molasses
To peel peaches, bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Transfer peaches to water with a slotted spoon, cook for 30 seconds, remove with the spoon, and plunge into a bowl of ice and water. The skins will slip off.
Makes about: 1 quart | Active time: 15 to 20 minutes
Intensely sweet, slightly puckery, exotic, and luscious—this is our pick for a desert island sorbet.
In a bowl, combine Sorbet Base, mango puree, lime juice, and ½ cup water and mix well.
Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Scrape into an airtight storage container. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
Thom Mayne-go: Vegan Ginger Molasses Cookies + Mango Sorbet (see Building the Perfect Sandwich)
You can order mango puree from www.perfectpuree.com.
A founder of the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Mayne is a principal of Morphosis, a Santa Monica–based architectural firm. Morphosis’ design mission is to enforce “a dynamic and evolving practice that responds to the shifting and advancing social, cultural, political, and technological conditions of modern life.”
Makes about: 1 quart | Active time: 15 to 20 minutes
Nothing wakes up strawberries like a nice hint of mint. White rum adds a syrupy and spirited beat.
In a blender or food processor, puree strawberries and mint. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Discard any solids left in sieve.
Add lime juice, Sorbet Base, and ½ cup water to strawberry puree and mix well.
Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add rum during last 2 minutes of churning.
Scrape into an airtight storage container. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
Makes about: 1 quart | Active time: 40 to 60 minutes
We think of pears as introverted apples. And what better flavor to play up this wallflower fruit than vanilla? A little white wine adds some personality (we recommend using a nice Grüner Veltliner or Riesling). It’s true that this sorbet takes a little more time than our other sorbets, but like a liquefied poached pear, it is well worth the extra effort.
In a bowl, combine Sorbet Base and pear puree and mix well.
Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Scrape into an airtight storage container. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
In a 4-quart saucepan, combine wine, sugar, vanilla bean seeds and pod, salt, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add pears and return mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until pears are soft and tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
Remove and discard vanilla bean pod. Puree in a blender. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and let cool.
Vegan Ginger Molasses or Gluten-Free Coconut Almond Chocolate Chip
Makes about: 1 quart | Active time: 15 to 20 minutes
Reminiscent of a pineapple slushy, but with a sophisticated edge, this is a lighter spin on the zippy, fruity, herbal Spicy Pineapple-Cilantro-Chile Ice Cream. Its flavor is more like a fiery and fruity Mexican salsa than a piña colada.
In a food processor or blender, puree pineapple, cilantro, and serrano. Transfer pineapple puree to a bowl and stir in Sorbet Base.
Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Scrape into an airtight storage container. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
