Sunday, September 19, 2010

Tart, Fresh Lemony Goodness

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Dear zesty readers,

The following recipes are based on the fresh, summery taste of the sprightly lemon.  Only use organic lemons for the following recipes, even if you aren't an "organic produce" fan; the peel of the lemon goes into these recipes and you don't want to know what is sprayed onto that peel.

To wash the lemons: scrub thoroughly with a veggie scrubber in a mixture of white vinegar and water,( and, if you have it, veggie wash).



The sorbet/sherbet recipes are drawn from "The Perfect Scoop", my favorite frozen treat cookbook.

Lemon Sorbet
Makes about 1 quart (1 liter)
This recipe would qualify as both vegan and gluten-free

2 1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar (you can add more if you like it sweeter)
2 lemons, organic
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6 lemons) or bottled (if you squeeze it yourself, pick the seeds out of the pulp and include the pulp with the juice.  Sometimes I use a mixture of fresh-squeezed orange and lemon juice.)

In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, mix 1/2 cup of the water and the sugar.  Grate the zest of the 2 lemons directly into the saucepan.  Heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Remove from the heat and add the remaining 2 cups water (if you're in a hurry, make this water be ice-water or at least ice-cold!), then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.
Stir the lemon juice into the sugar syrup, then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers directions.

Lemon Sherbet
Makes about 1 quart
This recipe would qualify as being vegetarian (but not vegan) and gluten-free

3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, organic
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 - 3 lemons)

In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, mix 1 cup of the milk with the sugar.  Grate the zest of the lemon directly into the saucepan.  Heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is dissolved.  remove from the heat and add the remaining 2 cups milk, then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.
Stir the lemon juice into the milk mixture.  If it curdles a bit, whisk it vigorously to make it smooth again.  Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.

Tips on ice-cream making: I have the Cuisinart ice-cream maker and it works excellently, is easy to use and clean, and I use it often!  Store the churn piece in your freezer so that it is always ready for use.  If this is the mixer you have, assemble for use and start the churn spinning, and then pour the liquid through the hole in the top.  If it is spinning before you pour, the ice-cream doesn't stick to the sides as much.  Then, cover the churn with plastic and swaddle in a bath towel.  This insulates it and speeds up the process.  On average, churning the ice-cream custards and sherbet/sorbets takes about 30 minutes.  The recipes about take 20 - 30 minutes to thicken up.  When the frozen treat is thickened, scoop it out and put it in a tub and store in the freezer to firm up.  If your churn is not completely rock-solid frozen before you start churning, your ice-cream will churn forever and never get thick.

Happy churning!


Mrs H
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