Easy Homemade Coconut Sorbet Recipe - Ice Cream From Scratch (2024)

FAQs

What is coconut sorbet made of? ›

It is seriously coconutty! Made with a triple blend of coconut - condensed coconut milk, evaporated coconut milk, and young coconut water.

If your sorbet is rock-hard after churning and freezing: Allow it to sit on the counter for 5 minutes to soften before scooping OR. Melt the base back down to liquid, add more sugar, or a bit of corn syrup, or a splash of alcohol, then re-churn and refreeze.

That's why pastry chefs look to liquid sugar like invert sugar, glucose, or dextrose, which all make sorbet creamier when used properly. The easiest alternative sugar—the one you can find in any American supermarket—is plain 'ol non-high-fructose corn syrup. Trust me: It's lemon sorbet's best friend.

According to Serious Eats, the optimal sugar concentration for sorbet is 20-30%. Sugar dissolved in water lowers the freezing point of the mixture. The sweet spot of sorbet is all about adding enough sugar to prevent it from freezing solid, while not adding so much sugar that it won't solidify at all.

Tapioca starch (or corn starch): tapioca starch fis our go-to starch to thicken a sorbet mixture, for the velvety texture it creates. If you do not have tapioca starch, you can use corn starch instead, which is not the same, but it still works.

Sorbets are a simple combination of fresh fruit or fruit juice with sugar. That's it! About two pounds of fruit will be perfect for making a quart of sorbet — that comes out to about five cups of chopped fruit. A little more or less is fine; this is a basic formula, not an exact science.

Too much sugar will not only make for a sickeningly sweet dessert, it also reduces the freezing point so that firstly, your sorbet will take ages to freeze, and secondly, it will crystallize as it freezes. Too little sugar and you end up with loads of crunchy ice crystals.

If you want a fluffier sorbet, you can add two egg whites, whipped to form stiff peaks, when the mixture begins to solidify.

The major difference between the two is that sherbet is made with dairy and sorbet isn't. Sherbet has more of a creamy texture that you'd expect from ice cream thanks to ingredients like milk, heavy cream, or buttermilk in the mix. Sorbet, on the other hand, is simply sugar and fruit.

Too little sweetener and your sorbet will be icy; too much sweetener and it will be mushy. Churn or stir your sorbet while it's freezing to prevent large ice crystals from forming. Please note the “Easy (no keep)” method doesn't require any sweetener or churning/stirring.

Do you put milk in sorbet? ›

"Sorbet is made with fruit but no dairy (eggs or milk/cream) so it's generally vegan-friendly and suits those with egg or dairy allergies, too," she says. The pureness of the fruit makes it icy and refreshing, and it won't be silky or rich in its texture as some other kinds of ice creams and sherberts may be.

Since alcohol doesn't freeze, the vodka helps add smoothness to the the crunchy, icy texture of the sorbet. I made mine with Heritage Distilling Company's vodka. Triple distilled with a smooth finish, it's the perfect addition to this refreshing dessert.

1 to 2 tablespoons liqueur (this is for flavor, but it also prevents the sorbet from freezing solid. Alcohol won't freeze, so it is great insurance that you will have a soft sorbet.

Ice cream machines work by churning / aerating mixtures whilst freezing them. As the mixture freezes, the churning action breaks down large ice crystals, producing that creamy smooth texture we know and love.

Sherbet and sorbet are both fruity frozen treats whose names are often incorrectly used interchangeably. The main difference? Sherbet contains dairy while sorbet has no dairy.

Sorbet has less calories than ice cream and other frozen desserts, and no fat. It's fruit content also makes it rich in vitamin C. Any downsides? That fruit content also means it contains a fair bit of sugar, and if we're comparing it with ice cream and gelato, it has less calcium, vitamin A and iron.

The difference between ice cream and sorbet is also based on whether or not dairy is used. Technically speaking, ice cream always contains cream and/or milk as its main ingredients, while sorbet traditionally never includes dairy or eggs, instead being primarily made from fruit juice or fruit purée.

"Sorbet is made with fruit but no dairy (eggs or milk/cream) so it's generally vegan-friendly and suits those with egg or dairy allergies, too," she says. The pureness of the fruit makes it icy and refreshing, and it won't be silky or rich in its texture as some other kinds of ice creams and sherberts may be.