Fresh Ginger And Citrus Sorbet Recipes

LIME, GINGER, AND LEMONGRASS SORBET

Steps:

• 1. In a blender, combine the lemongrass with 3 cups water and puree until mostly smooth. (Lemongrass is very fibrous, so you will not get to a completely uniform consistency; that's okay.) Transfer the puree to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat, cover, and let the liquid infuse for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the syrup into a bowl, pressing on the solids; discard the solids in the strainer. You should wind up with about 2 cups of strained "lemongrass tea"; be sure to measure out your final yield.
• 2. In a medium saucepan, combine the "lemongrass tea" with the same amount (by volume) of sugar. So, if you wind up with 2 cups tea, you will add 2 cups (400 grams) sugar. Stir the mixture over medium-high heat until all the sugar has dissolved and the syrup comes to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
• 3. Transfer the cooled syrup to a quart-size container and stir in the ginger juice and lime juice. Cover and refrigerate the sorbet base until completely cold, at least 3 hours.
• 4. Pour the chilled sorbet base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place the container in which you refrigerated the sorbet base in the freezer so you can use it to store the finished sorbet. Churn the sorbet until it resembles Italian ice. Transfer the sorbet to the chilled storage container and freeze until hardened to your desired consistency. The sorbet will keep, frozen, for up to 7 days.

LEMON GINGER SORBET

Steps:

• Combine the water and sugar in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and stir in honey. Cool completely.
• Grate ginger; place ginger on several layers of damp cheesecloth. Gather edges of cheesecloth together; squeeze cheesecloth bag over a small bowl to measure 1 tablespoon ginger juice. (When I did this step, the juice came pouring out as I grated the ginger, so I was able to skip the straining part),.
• Combine the sugar mixture, ginger juice, and lemon juice in a large bowl.
• Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream machine, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon the sorbet into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.
• *OR* if you don't have an ice cream machine, stir the sorbet every half hour or so to as it is freezing (to break the ice crystals and prevent it from separating) until it reaches the desired consistency. You may have to run it through the blender if it freezes too solid or if it separates into its components; you may also want to take it out of the freezer and leave it in the fridge for 20 minutes immediately before serving to soften it up.

FRESH GINGER AND CITRUS SORBET

Steps:

• Combine 5 cups water, sugar and ginger in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Strain liquid into large bowl; discard solids.
• Return liquid to same saucepan. Add lemon and lime peels. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in lemon and lime juices. Cool completely. Pour mixture into 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Cover and freeze until solid, about 6 hours or overnight.
• Transfer mixture to processor and puree until smooth. Return to same glass dish; cover and freeze until solid, at least 3 hours or overnight. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Keep frozen.) Scoop sorbet into glasses or bowls. Garnish with mint.

RHUBARB SORBET

Steps:

• Combine rhubarb, water, sugar, lemon zest, ginger, and a heavy pinch of salt in an uncovered, medium, heavy-based saucepan; bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb begins to disintegrate, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature, at least 30 minutes.
• Pour cooled liquid into a blender and process until thoroughly pureed. Transfer to a container, cover, and place in the refrigerator to chill, at least 4 hours. Then transfer the chilled mixture to the freezer for 30 minutes.
• Pour mixture into the blender and blend until color is consistent throughout, about 1 minute.
• Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions for sorbet, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.