Meyer Lemon Sorbet

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been enjoying the seasonal availability of Meyer lemons in my local markets.  If you’ve never had a Meyer lemon they taste like a cross between a tangerine and a lemom.  All the information I’ve seen only speculates on the Meyer lemon’s heritage so no one seems to know for sure.  But who needs to know for sure when the result is so delicious? 

 

This last week’s project was sorbet for a brunch I held last weekend.  I’ll tell you more about the brunch in a future post but right now let’s just cover the sorbet.  Because the Meyer lemon has that hint of tangerine they are not quite as tart as a regular lemon, yet they are not as sweet as their orange-colored citrus relations.  So I created a recipe that took that into account. 

 

Overall I really liked the sorbet!  However, the recipe I came up with had two slight imperfections I’ll modify the next time I make the recipe. 

 

First, I’ll increase the amount of sugar just a little bit.  I like tart foods but this had a little too much of an edge to it.  However, several of my guests said they wouldn’t change that at all, which surprised me.  So I wouldn’t add too much more sugar – maybe 1/8 of a cup. 

 

Also, I had added a little bit of limoncello to the mixture to keep it from freezing too solidly but it wasn’t enough.  The sorbet was rock hard and took quite a long time to get soft enough to scoop when removed from the frrezer.  Increasing the sugar would also help keep it somewhat softer but I think I’d double the amount of limoncello next time to really improve the scoobability (that’s a new word!) and the texture, too. 

 

Here’s the recipe I used: 

 

2 cups Meyer lemon juice

Zest from 2 Meyer lemons

1 cup water

2 Tbsp limoncello

7/8 cup of sugar (a "light" cup)

 

If the lemons have been waxed, remove the wax by scrubbing under warm running water and then drying with a rough towel or by briefly blanching the lemons in boiling water (for no more than one minute) and then drying them with a rough towel. 

 

Add the sugar to the water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes to ensure the sugar is completely dissolved and incorporated into the water. 

 

Remove from the heat and add the zest (it’s best if you can zest the fruit right over the pan so the oils that are released while zesting fall into the pan).  Cool to room temperature and then pour into a bowl or storage container.  Add the juice and the limoncello.  Cool in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.  The mixture should be very cold. 

 

Using an electric ice-cream maker, frreze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.