Cranberry Sorbet Recipe

The Best Thanksgiving Cranberry Component

Nov 3, 2009 Carol Hilker

A traditional Thanksgiving dinner usually consists of turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Cranberry sorbet is a delicious alternative.

Most people confuse sorbet and sherbet, when really they are quite different. A sherbet has similar components to a sorbet, the primary lack of similarity being that a sherbet contains milk and/or cream and sometimes egg, where as a sorbet does not. A proper sorbet recipe has absolutely no dairy, making it a great dessert option for the lactose-intolerant and vegans.

The similarities are that they both use fruit and simple syrup. (Simple syrup is easier than it sounds and is simply a mixture of sugar-water, which is great for many things from macaroons to Buttercream frosting to really good lemonade.)

Cranberry Sorbet v. Cranberry Sauce

A sorbet takes the cake over cranberry sauce any day; it uses the simplest of all ingredients to bring out the desired flavor of the cranberry, which is a perfect alternative to floppy, jiggly, canned cranberry sauce. This cranberry sorbets has an equal mix of sweet and sour, and brings a different consistency to the taste of a regular, old bag of cranberries, while giving a new spin to a normally mundane Thanksgiving side. This specific cranberry sorbet captures the exact essence of what a good cranberry tastes like, a tart moment of sweetness.

Cranberry Sorbet Recipe

Makes 1 quart

• 1 bag of Fresh cranberries
• 5 cups of water, 2 cups set to the side
• 2 1/2 cups of sugar, 1/2 cup set to the side
• 3/4 cups lime juice
• 3/4 cups orange juice
• 2 T cointreau or orange flavored liquor

1. Boil the 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of sugar with cranberries, stirring occasionally, until cranberries start to pop. (About 15 minutes.)
2. Let cool.
3. When cranberry mixture is cool, puree the mixture in a blender and sieve into a bowl, discarding discarding stem, solids and the left-over skin.
4. Chill for two hours.
5. While waiting for the cranberry puree to chill, put remaining 3 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar, on stove on medium to high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is still murky. Let simple syrup cool for about 30 minutes.
6. Stir puree, simple syrup and orange juice and lime juice together.
7. Add 2 T of Contreau.
8. Spin immediately or put in refrigerator until ready to spin.

• Store in container with a lid and a piece of plastic pressed down flat on top of sorbet to avoid freezer burn.
• The best way to make sure that the consistency of a sorbet is perfect is to put an egg into the sorbet gently. If it floats to the top, then either add more simple syrup or more puree to the mixture.
• Adding the Contreau or any sort of liquor will do nothing to the sorbet but give it perfect consistency and bring the flavors together.
• Spin the sorbet as long as it has to spin and don't worry about over-spinning. It's very unlikely to ever over-spin.
• When following any sort of recipe for sorbet or ice creams, measure to the exact recipe. Various aspects of sorbet and ice cream making are similar to chemistry.
• The ration between sugar to water in a simple syrup is 2:1. Any more or any less could result in caramel instead of simple syrup.

Related Holiday Recipes:

Traditional Apple Wassial

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The copyright of the article Cranberry Sorbet Recipe in Seasonal Cooking is owned by Carol Hilker. Permission to republish Cranberry Sorbet Recipe in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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