It's time for some warm-weather desserts! I found a few sorbet recipes on Serious Eats. One that stood out to me was this recipe for a Pear, Riesling, and Ginger Sorbet. This sorbet is really complex (if my palette is any good) because with one bite, you get refreshing, soft, cold and icy sorbet, but you also get a spicy zing of ginger with a very subtle pear and riesling undertone.
The original recipe called for 3 pears, but I bought an extra one, just in case. It turned out that 3 pears were not enough. 4 pears barely got me 2 1/4 cups of chopped pears. Note to my future self: buy 5 pears for this recipe. The hardest part was determining how much 3 tablespoons of ginger was without grating it. I think I know now that 1 to 1 1/2 inches of ginger would be a good amount.
The first step was to cook the chopped pears and ginger with the Riesling (with the cover on). According to Serious Eats, "alcohol reduces a sorbet base's freezing point, thus making the sorbet softer and easier to scoop."
After everything is cooked, they go into a blender or a food processor and get puréed until smooth.
Refrigerate the mixture for a few hours until it gets really cold. When it's ready, pour it into your ice cream maker and then freeze it again for a few more hours.
This recipe says it yields 1 quart, but I think it made a little less than that (even with my extra pear).
The end result was a very tasty sorbet that I will definitely make again!
Pear, Riesling, and Ginger Sorbet Recipe
3-5 ripe pears (about 1 1/4 pounds, 2 1/4 cups chopped)
1 1/2 cups Riesling (Look for a Riesling with moderate sweetness but good acidity that has an alcohol content around 12%)
3 tablespoons (or 1 1/2 inches) ginger, chopped
1 cup sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice, to taste
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Procedures
1. In a medium saucepan, combine pears, Riesling, and ginger. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to very low heat and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.
2. Carefully transfer pears, wine, and ginger to blender and add sugar. Cover very tightly and purée until smooth, about 30 seconds.
3. Pour through a strainer into an airtight container and stir in lemon juice and salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, about 4 hours.
4. Transfer to an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer ice cream to airtight container and chill in freezer for at least 4 to 5 hours before serving.
YIELD: makes 1 quart
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