Three sorbets

According to the well-known cook, Elizabeth Davies, ices probably came to the Italians via the Chinese, although the Arabs and the Persians and the Moguls all had their ices in the form of sherbets, forerunner of sorbets. The Romans had known about iced wine and fruit juices as they had a system of preserving ice for the summer in special underground store places. It was certainly the Italians who brought ices to Europe. Buontalini, a Florentine cook, delighted the French court with these delicacies in 1533. It is said that another Italian, de Mirra, brought ices to the English via the court of Charles 1st.

As May is one of the first real summer months, I have decided to give you three sorbets. The first one is a lemon one from the British Heart Foundation, though I have added one egg white to improve the texture.

1. Lemon sorbet

Ingredients
Juice of two lemons
1 tspn of finely grated lemon peel without pith
57gm (2 oz) castor sugar
177 ml (6 oz) water
1 egg white

Method
Mix all the ingredients except the egg white in a large bowl. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Pour into a tin ice container and place in the freezer. Stir through several times as it starts to freeze at the edges until the whole thing becomes mushy. At this point whisk the egg white until
 firm but not stiff and fold it into the lemon mixture until well blended. Leave to freeze properly. Cover and label. When needed allow to soften slightly in the fridge before taking scoops and placing in lemon shells or pretty glass dishes with a slice of lemon on the edge to decorate.

2.  Raspberry Sorbet

Ingredients
450gm (1 lb) raspberries
175gm (6 oz) castor sugar
2 egg whites
Water

Method
Liquidize and sieve the raspberries and place in a pint-size jug. See how much water is needed to make up to a pint but don’t add it to the raspberries yet. Dissolve the sugar in the water in a saucepan and boil uncovered for ten minutes. Stir the sugar syrup on to the raspberries and leave to cool. The pour into a 1pint ice cube tray and freeze until mushy. Whisk the egg whites to form light peaks which are not too dry and fold into the raspberry puree. Return to the freezer until firm and, as in previous recipe, cover and label. Soften slightly when you need to serve.

3. Orange sorbet

Ingredients
175gm (6 oz) castor sugar
450 ml (3/4 pint) water
178 ml (6 1/2 fluid oz) of fresh orange juice or from a carton
Two large egg whites

Method
Dissolve sugar in the water in a saucepan, uncovered, and boil for ten minutes. Pour the resulting syrup into a bowl containing the orange juice. Stir thoroughly and leave to get cold. Pour into a large ice tray and continue as in the previous recipes. If liked when serving top with depithed and skinned slices of fresh orange.

Ann Way