Watermelon Sorbet

I gotten myself a new toy recently but so far I've only used it twice so I'm still not sure how good this thing is to churn out delish cold ice-creams LOL. I haven't got the chance to get the ingredients for ice-cream yet.

Ok I've been playing with Kenwood Ice-cream Maker (IM250)... just a very very basic stuff where the mah farness (troublesome) is I have to freeze the bowl for at least 24 hours before using it. So far the instructions mentioned that it usually takes 15 - 20 minutes to churn but I've tried this Watermelon Sorbet last Sunday and it took me more than 1 hour. After 1 hour it's still watery so I have to freeze it a bit before it came out looking like this. I suspect the watermelon contained far too much water to obtain a thick puree. So far the texture sure beat my old method of blending the concoction every few hours, the ice is finer and smoother... well almost like 7-11's Slurpee!



I've used 2 1/2 cups watermelon puree (my handheld blender could blend it into puree without adding any water) and 1/2 cup lemon juice as my choice following Donna Hay's Sorbet recipe. Hmmm... I would have to make do with this first and see if my dream can come true one of these days!

Happy weekend everyone!

Basic Sorbet
Serves 4-6

3/4 cup caster sugar
1 cup water
fruit puree of your choice (see below)

To make the basic syrup, place the sugar and water in a saucepan over a low heat and stir without boiling until sugar is dissolved.

Increase the heat and bring to the boil for one minute. Set aside to cool. While the syrup is cooling, prepare one of the fruit variations below.

Combine the fruit puree and sugar syrup, place in an ice-cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions or the instructions below for a thick and scoopable sorbet.

If you don't have an ice-cream maker, place the fruit and syrup mixture in a metal bowl or cake tin, cover and freeze for an hour or until just beginning to set at the edge. Beat with an electric hand whisk and return to the freezer. Repeat three times at hourly intervals or until the sorbet is thick and smooth.


Variations:

For a Raspberry Sorbet, add 1 3/4 cup strained raspberry puree (700g fresh or frozen raspberries) and 1/4 cup (60 ml) lime juice to the cooled basic sorbet syrup and continue with step 3.

For a Peach Sorbet, combine 2 1/2 cups strained peach puree (6 peaches or 900g chopped peach flesh) and 1/3 cup (80ml) lemon juice to the cooled basic sorbet syrup and continue with step 3.

For a Mango Sorbet, combine 2 1/2 cups mango puree (4 x 400g mangoes or 950g chopped mango flesh) and 1/2 cup (120ml) lime juice to the cooled basic sorbet syrup and continue with step 3.

For a Strawberry Sorbet, add 2 1/2 cups strained strawberry puree (850g fresh strawberries) and 1/2 cup (120ml) lime juice to the cooled basic sorbet syrup and continue with step 3.

Ref: Modern Classics Book 2, Donna Hay

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