Orange sorbet
Sorbetto all’arancia
Although orange sorbet is made without dairy products it is light and creamy, thanks to the addition of whipped egg white.
Sorbet is considered the progenitor of ice cream, and some claim it was known already be the ancient Romans, who brought ice from the Apennines to the capital and flaavoured it with fruit juice in order to make the cool and refreshing dessert. Later the Arabs in Sicily figured out how to make a eutectic mixture of snow from Etna and sea salt. This enabled them to produce sorbets and ice creams, similar to the ones we enjoy today.
I use the zest from the oranges to enhance the flavour, which means that what remains of the fruit is not very good looking. Instead you can scoop out the meat and make bowls of the oranges to be used as serving cups.
Try also mirabelle plum sorbet, forest fruit sorbet, rhubarb sorbet and cherry ice cream.
Ingredients
4 organic oranges (juice and zest)
400 ml water
200 g sugar
1 egg white
Preparation
Bring sugar and water to the boil:
Grate the zest of 2 oranges and add it to the syrup.
Press the oranges and mix the juice with the syrup.
Use an electric mixer to whisk egg whites foamy and fluffy.
Fold the orange syrup into the egg white.
Churn the sorbet for half an hour in your ice cream maker. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can place the sorbet directly in the freezer and stir it around every half hour to prevent crystallization.
I serve my orange sorbet on crunched macaroons with grated orange zest on top.
I guess orange sorbet must have been one of the first ice creams invented in Sicily.
Italian Notes
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