Lemon and Mint Sorbet

So! It's been around 2 months since my last post, and I have a very good reason why I was pre-occupied with something else! Anyway, for the first post for this year I thought I'd show off a little toy, a gift from colleagues.

Sunbeam Gelateria

I've always wanted an ice cream maker and was actually contemplating on getting a Cuisine Art ice cream maker so getting something very similar (if not better!) was much appreciated.

So, of course it had to be tested!

Incidentally there was a bunch of lemons waiting to be picked from the tree. And since it's summer, it's a perfect time to make something refreshing. I made a lemon and mint sorbet! The lemons and mint were freshly picked from the garden on the same day as the sorbet was made. Nothing can be fresher than this!

you calling me a lemon?

 this is actually ginger mint

I followed a basic sugar recipe included in the instruction manual. This has to be made ahead.

Sugar Syrup

1 cup water

1 cup caster sugar

Place water and sugar in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature before refrigerating for a few hours or until cold.

Lemon and Mint Sorbet

2 cups lemon juice (around 6 lemons) 

zest of 2 lemons

handful of mint, chopped finely (I used some ginger mint as an excuse to pluck some leaves off our plant! and ordinary mint)

1 quantity of sugar syrup

Combine sugar syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest and mint. Cool in fridge for a couple of minutes (this just helps in making the sorbet quicker - just a tip I read from the manual).

The Gelateria needs some prep prior to be being used. It has a fixed cylinder and a removable cylinder inserted into the fixed cylinder. A saline solution (1 tablespoon water and 1 teaspoon salt) has to be poured into the fixed stainless steel cylinder to facilitate the transfer of freezing temperatures from the fixed cylinder to the removable cylinder (where the liquid mixture is poured). The machine also needs 5 minutes to 'chill' prior to making any ice cream/sorbet/gelato. 

When the mixture has chilled a bit and the gelateria has chilled as well, pour the mixture onto the ice cream maker, start the paddle motor  then sit down and relax for around 35 minutes - check the consistency after around 35 minutes, if you think it's good enough you can stop it, or check when the paddle has started moving the opposite direction. Otherwise just increase the time.

 whip it, whip it

looks good

Transfer the mixture using a spatula or wooden spoon onto a freezer safe container and let sit in the freezer for a couple of hours.

Enjoy!

it was awesome - zesty, citrusy and not too sweet!

It's great to make chilled desserts ahead of time - perfect for summer treats! (Next time I will also have some sugar syrup on standby in the fridge!)