Tangerine Sorbet

I believe citrus fruit is in season during the winter months to keep us from going stir-crazy during frigid and gray winters. With their bright colors and sweet-tart flavor they shock us out of seasonal malaise.  This tangerine sorbet brings a jolt of sunshine and a spring to my step even on the dreariest of days.  It’s super simple to make – there are just three ingredients and two of them come from the tangerines!

There’s a fine line between some sorbets and granita and this is one of them.  This recipe uses an ice-cream maker; but take the same ingredients, freeze them in a long, wide container (like a 9”x12” pan), then occasionally scrape with a fork and you’ll have granita, instead of sorbet.  In fact, you can see that I scraped more than scooped to fill my little bowl.

Remove the sorbet from the freezer 10 to 15 minutes before serving to let it soften a bit.  With just fruit juice and sugar the mixture will freeze rock-solid.

Tangerine Sorbet

• Zest from 1 or 2 tangerines
• 3 cups tangerine (or other citrus) juice
• ¾ cup sugar

Add the sugar to 1 cup of the tangerine juice.  Heat over low heat just until sugar is dissolved. (It won’t take long.) Let it cool to room temperature.

Add the zest to the remaining 2 cups of the tangerine juice and, when the sugar-juice mixture has cooled, combine all the juice together.  Chill in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 hours until completely cold.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.