Rob and I were married in January and one of the gifts we were the most excited to receive was an Ice Cream Maker. Despite our excitement, this was not a practical gift to try out during the coldest and snowiest winter on record.
The other day, however, I was watching Giada’s cooking show and she made a very tasty sounding Pomegranate Sorbet with mint and mini chocolate chips that I just had to try.
So I went to the store, purchased all the ingredients, set them up at home, unpacked the ice cream maker and realized I had to freeze the inner bowl for 24 hours before I could use it. Ugh, alright.
Into the freezer the drum went, and the next day I set everything up again, but didn’t think things through. Despite winging the recipe (as I didn’t write it down but mostly remembered it), the problem I had was in the execution. To make sorbet you have to make a simple syrup by boiling 1 cup of sugar in 1 cup of water – no problems here. The problem occurred when I poured the nearly boiling sugar water into my frozen drum.
Thankfully it didn’t crack, but it did defrost the drum. Over an hour spent churning the sugary juice did no more than mixing it really well. I tried putting it in the freezer a few times to chill it further, but that didn’t help either. I only managed to freeze the churning wheel in place.
See? I jump in head first and figure it out as I go, usually after a lot of false starts.
After 4 hours yesterday of trying to turn juice into sorbet I gave up – I poured the liquid into a container and put the drum back into the freezer. This morning I tried again, and it worked! I couldn’t have been more pleased. It’s pleasantly tart with a hint of sweetness and mint that is complimented nicely by the tang of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
If anyone would like to try this on your own, here’s the recipe.
Pomegranate Sorbet with Mint and Chocolate Chips
original recipe by Giada
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup no pulp orange juice
2 cups pomegranate juice
large handful fresh mint
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Combine sugar, water and mint over medium high heat until sugar is fully dissolved. COOL COMPLETELY. This creates your simple syrup.
Combine pomegranate juice and orange juice in ice cream maker and strain simple syrup in to remove any mint leaves.
Run ice cream maker until sorbet is appropriately frozen, about 20 – 30 minutes.
Add mini chocolate chips and run until just combined.
Store in a freezer-safe container.
I don’t suppose you have any place to grow your own mint. We could probably find you a familial start next month.
I’d love to be able to grow my own herbs. Rob and I went to Home Depot last weekend to look at getting a flower box, but we only get 4 hours of sun or less on our balcony which isn’t going to support an herb garden. I guess it will have to wait until we can buy a house with a yard just like everything else.
That sounds like something I’d do — especially first time I try a new recipe! But in the end it worked, and it sounds so good. What kind of ice cream maker do you have? Do you recommend that brand? I’m such a nerd — I keep pomegranate juice and OJ on hand in the freezer specifically for stuff like this. I could make that right now if I just had an ice cream maker (Yay, another gadget to ask Adam for!).
Oooh, I bet pomegranate molasses would be so boss on that ice cream.
We have the Cuisinart 1.5 quart automatic ice cream maker. It seems to work really well if you use your brain before diving in.
Careful with that ice cream maker. I got one for my wedding (a summer with record heat/drought) and gained a LOT of weight before I knew what happened! Maybe you’ll be better with sorbets and puppies to walk! Having said all that, I may have to try the pomegranate sorbet since we grow our own mint. Need a start?!
That’s exactly what I’m worried about! I think I’ll make ice cream very rarely – frozen yogurt is much more likely.