Lemon sorbet

Fresh, tangy and smooth — the basic recipe that teaches you how sugar turns frozen water into sorbet.

Lemon sorbet is almost entirely water, which is why it shows best what sugar does. A combination of granulated sugar, glucose syrup and dextrose keeps the ice fine and the sorbet easy to scoop. A little pectin binds water, so crystals form more slowly in the freezer and the sorbet melts more slowly on the plate.

Type: Sorbet · Servings: 8 · Difficulty: Easy

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 500 g water
  • 210 g granulated sugar (sucrose)
  • 3 g pectin (0.3 % — optional, makes the sorbet smoother)
  • 60 g glucose syrup (DE 40, 80 % solids)
  • 20 g dextrose (glucose powder)
  • 200 g lemon juice (fresh) (from 5–6 lemons)
  • 6 g grated lemon zest (from 2 unwaxed lemons, yellow part only)

Making the mix

  1. Finely grate only the yellow zest from two lemons (the white pith turns bitter). Squeeze the lemons and strain the juice.
  2. Mix the sugar thoroughly with the pectin — pectin on its own would form lumps in the water.
  3. Heat the water and, stirring constantly, add the sugar and pectin, then the glucose syrup, dextrose and zest. Simmer for 1–2 minutes until everything has dissolved.
  4. Take the syrup off the heat and leave to cool. Only then stir in the lemon juice — boiling would dull its freshness.
  5. Refrigerate the mix for at least 2 hours. For a perfectly smooth sorbet, strain out the zest before freezing.

Method — Compressor ice cream maker

  1. Switch the ice cream maker on 5–10 minutes ahead so the bowl can pre-chill.
  2. Pour in the chilled mix (no higher than the fill line) and churn for 25–35 minutes until the sorbet is thick, glossy and holds its shape on a spoon.
  3. Transfer to a chilled container, cover the surface with cling film and leave to harden in the freezer for 1–2 hours.

Total time: 4 h 50 min

Method — Freezer-bowl ice cream maker

  1. Take the frozen bowl out of the freezer just before use, fit the paddle and switch the machine on.
  2. With the machine running, pour in the well-chilled mix — no more than two thirds of the bowl; freeze the rest in a second batch.
  3. Churn for 20–25 minutes until the sorbet thickens into a dense ice slush. Churning longer is pointless — the bowl has already warmed up.
  4. Transfer to a chilled container, cover the surface with cling film and leave to harden in the freezer for 3 hours.

Freeze the bowl for at least 24 hours ahead. The mix must be fridge-cold (5 °C or below) — a lukewarm mix warms the bowl before the sorbet can set.

Total time: 5 h 45 min

Method — Ninja CREAMi and similar machines

  1. Pour the chilled mix into the CREAMi tub up to the MAX line (any extra into a second tub), put the lid on and freeze level for 24 hours.
  2. Put the tub in the machine and run the Sorbet program.
  3. If the sorbet is crumbly or powdery, add 1–2 tablespoons of water or juice and run Re-spin. Serve straight away.

Programme: Sorbet

The CREAMi doesn’t stir the mix while it freezes; instead, its blade finely shaves the frozen block. It therefore copes with a less sweet mix too — this version has about a third less added sugar (around 20–23 °Bx, below the usual sorbet range). Straight from the freezer it is rock hard, so re-process it (Re-spin) before serving.

Total time: 26 h 25 min

Method — No-machine method

  1. Pour the chilled mix into a shallow metal or glass container (3–4 cm deep) and put it in the freezer.
  2. After an hour, stir the mix thoroughly with a fork or a stick blender — work the frozen edges into the centre.
  3. Repeat every 30–45 minutes, 5–6 times in total, until the sorbet is thick and smooth.
  4. Finally, you can briefly whizz it in a food processor for an even smoother result. Leave to harden for an hour.

Without a machine, larger ice crystals grow. This version has more glucose syrup (about 30–32 °Bx) — the sorbet stays softer and smoother even without constant stirring.

Total time: 7 h 20 min

Stages

Preparation
15 min
Cooking
5 min
Cooling
2 h
Churning
30 min
Hardening in the freezer
2 h
Total time
4 h 50 min

Serving and storage

As a palate cleanser between courses, a small scoop in a chilled glass is enough. Add a spoonful of prosecco or vodka and you have an Italian sgroppino (adults only).

Best within 1–2 weeks, kept in a closed container with cling film on the surface. After that the fruit flavour fades and the sorbet turns coarse. Do not refreeze once thawed.

Tips

  • The egg test — a home sugar check without a refractometer: carefully lower a thoroughly washed and dried egg, still in its shell, into the chilled mix. If it sinks to the bottom, there is too little sugar. If a circle about 2 cm across (roughly the size of a 10-cent euro coin) shows above the surface, the ratio is about right. A larger circle means too much sugar — add water or juice. Then take the egg out. The test is only a rough guide (older eggs float more easily).
  • It is easier with a refractometer: the lemon mix should read 26–30 °Bx. Citric acid pushes the reading slightly up, so aim for the upper end of the range.
  • You can replace the glucose syrup with the same amount of sugar — the sorbet will be a little sweeter and harder straight from the freezer.
  • For lime sorbet, use the same amount of lime juice and lime zest.

Why it works

Sorbet has no fat or protein to slow the growth of ice crystals — the sugars do all the work. Dissolved sugar lowers the freezing point, so at −12 °C part of the water stays unfrozen and the sorbet can be scooped. Below about 22 % sugars the sorbet is hard and icy; above about 34 % it is soft, sticky and too sweet. Dextrose lowers the freezing point almost twice as much as the same amount of granulated sugar and is less sweet. Glucose syrup adds solids that slow crystallisation while barely adding sweetness. Pectin binds water, making the sorbet thicker and more stable.

Sources