Recipes for Ices and Sorbets using Common Fruits

The following is copied direct and *without* permission from "The Curious Cook" by Harold McGee from the chapter on how to make Water and Fruit ices.

A Granita is an intentionally coarse, grainy ice. The amount of sugar shown for the medium sweet ices can be reduced to form a coarser ice, with less sweet crystals. Medium sweet fruit ices have a finer, smoother texture, but with a similar flavor.

The sweet ices contain sufficient sugar to remain soft even when stored in the freezer, and require little to no thawing before being served. Some high acid fruits do not make good sweet ices, as they require too much dilution to subdue the acidity.

Mix the ingredients together, stirring occaisionally until the sugar is dissolved, then chill in the freezer until cold, then freeze in an ice cream maker. Serve fresh in a chilled dish, or let the ice sit in the freezer for 2-3 hours until hard. This ice is very hard, and must be partially thawed if it is to be scooped. To make a softer medium sweet ice, substitute wine for the water, or add 3-4 TBL of liquor or spirits to each pint of mix.

Pick yer Fruit!

Apple

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	11/16 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	3/16 cup	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	3/8 cup	2	0

Apricot

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	1	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	3/8 cups	0	4 (note)
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	5/8 cups	0	2 (note)

Avocado

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	1/4 cup	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	3/4	7/8 cups	2+ (note)	3/4
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	3/8 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	13/16 cups	2	0

Banana

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	5/16 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	5/8 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4 cups	2	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	3/8 cups	2	0

Blackberry

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	3/8 cups	0	2 (note)
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	11/16 cups	0	2 (note)

Black Currant

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	3/4	3/8 cups	0	1
Sweet water ice	3/4	13/16 cups	0	3/4

Blueberry

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	1/4 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	5/8 cups	2	0

Cactus Pear

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	1/4 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	5/8 cups	2	0

Cherry

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	5/16 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	11/16 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	3/16 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	1/4 cup	2	0

Cranberry

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	3/4	1/4 cup	0	1
Sweet water ice	3/4	13/16 cups	0	3/4

Fig

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	5/16 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	5/8 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	3/16 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	1/4 cup	2	0

Gooseberry

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	1	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	1	1/2

Grape

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	5/16 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	5/8 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	3/16 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	1/4 cup	2	0

Grapefruit

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	0	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	13/16 cups	0	1/2

Guava

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	3/8 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	11/16 cups	2	0

Kiwi

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	3/4	3/8 cups	0	1
Sweet water ice	3/4	3/4 cups	0	3/4

Lemon

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1/2	1/4 cup	0	1 1/4
Sweet water ice	1/2	7/8 cups	0	1

Lime

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1/2	1/4 cup	0	1 1/4
Sweet water ice	1/2	7/8 cups	0	1

Litchi

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	5/16 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	5/8 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	1	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	3/8 cups	2	0

Mango

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	2	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	3/8 cup	2	0

Melon

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	5/16 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	11/16 cups	2	0

Cantaloupe

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	13/16 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	3/8 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	3/4 cups	2	0

Orange

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	1/4 cups	0	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	11/16 cups	1	0

Papaya

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	3/8 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	11/16 cups	2	0

Passion Fruit

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	3/4	3/8 cups	0	1
Sweet water ice	3/4	13/16 cups	0	3/4

Peach

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	5/16 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	5/8 cups	2	0

Pear

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	5/16 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	5/8 cups	2	0

Persimmon

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	5/16 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	11/16 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	3/16 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	1/4 cup	2	0

Pineapple

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	5/16 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	11/16 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	1/4 cups	0	2 (note)
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	1/4 cup	1	0

Plum

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	5/16 cups	1	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	5/8 cups	2	0

Pomegranate

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	5/16 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	11/16 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	1/4 cups	0	2 (note)
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	3/8 cup	1	0

Raspberry

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	3/8 cups	0	2 (note)
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	11/16 cups	0	2 (note)

Red Currant

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	1	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	13/16 cups	1	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	3/8 cups	0	4 (note)
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	3/4 cups	0	2 (note)

Strawberry

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	3/8 cups	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	3/4 cups	2	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	3/8 cups	0	2 (note)
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	11/16 cups	0	2 (note)

Tomato

Style	Fruit Juice or Puree Cups	Cups Sugar	Lemon Juice TBL.	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	1/4 cup	2	3/4
Sweet water ice	1	13/16 cups	2+ (note)	1/2
Medium sweet fruit ice	1 3/4	7/16 cups	2	0
Sweet fruit ice	1 1/2	13/16 cups	2	0

Water

Use to make an infusion ice of coffee, tea, or herbs. Some infusions may be best with little or no added Lemon Juice note. Adjust according to taste.
Style	Cups Coffee, tea, herb juice	Cups Sugar	TBL. Lemon Juice	Water to make 2 Cups (approx)
Medium sweet water ice	1	1/4 cup	(3)	3/4
Sweet water ice	3/4	1 1/4 cup	2+ (note)	3/4

Rose water ice
Use the table for water ices for ingredient quantity. Heat the water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the solution approaches boiling. Remove from heat and add a large handful of petals from aromatic, pesticide free roses. Steep in the hot syrup for several hours, then remove the petals and add up to 1/2 to 1 TBL of lemon juice. Chill in the freezer until quite cold, then freeze in an ice cream maker.

When mixing fruits, combine the recipes for the two mixes, then divide the ingredient list in half.

Water note: These mostly minor adjustments of acidity are a matter of taste, and can be omitted.

Lemon Juice note: If you add more than 2 TBL of lemon juice, the ices will have a noticeable lemon flavor. Adjust to your own taste.

The following Sorbet recipes are taken from the August / September 1991 issue of The Herb Companion magazine:

Herbed Lemon Sorbet
Use fresh lemons, scraping the fruit out of the shells and use the empty shells for bowls:
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 2/3 cup water
1/4 cup dried or 1/2 cup fresh herbs, crushed
1 1/3 cups lemon juice or the juice of 6-7 lemons

Bring the sugar and water to a boil, remove from heat and steep the crushed herbs and cool to room temperature. Strain, stir the lemon juice, cover and chill for 1-2 hours.
Freeze in an ice cream maker or in a shallow tray, raking periodicly with a fork.

Sorbet of Rose Geranium and Sweet Cicely
3 1/2 cups of water
1 5/8 cups sugar
24 rose geranium leaves
24 six inch sprigs of sweet cicely
1/2 cup lemon juice

Bring the sugar and water to a boil, then allow to cool to room temperature. Chop the rose geranium leaves and sweet cicely sprigs in a food processor. Combine the herbal puree with the sugar syrup and let stand for 1 hour. Strain the herbs, add the lemon juice, and freeze in an ice cream maker or in a shallow tray, raking periodicly with a fork. Garnish with an edible rose geranium blossom.

Rose Hip sorbet
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 cuups water
4 TBL dried or 1/2 cup fresh rose hips, crushed

Bring the sugar and water to a boil, remove from heat and add the rose hips. Cool to room temperature. Strain the herbs, add the lemon juice, and freeze in an ice cream maker or in a shallow tray, raking periodicly with a fork.

Popular herbs include mint, lavender, rosemary, and scented geranium. Other possible herbs include Tarragon, purple sage, and sweet cicely.

Copyright 1997 by Richard B. Webb, aka The Outsider.

This page is authored and maintained by Rich Webb.You can send E-mail to me by following this link to the contact page. And feel free to contact me if you have any comments, criticisms, or suggestions. I remain, however, perfectly capable of ignoring your useless opinion...

This document was last modified on July 18, 1997, and has been viewed countless times.