Go ahead, try this at home:

Freeze up
your own sorbetto

By Malia Rulon
Star-Bulletin

Sorbetto is the Italian word for "sherbet." It is made of fruit pulp, water and sugar with absolutely no dairy products, making it a good choice for a delicious but low-fat dessert.

Be warned that anything you create at home will taste different from the sherbets you purchase at the store or at a restaurant because most home kitchens do not come equipped with the specialized machines and vats professional sorbetto makers use.

Sorbetto

(Adapted for home preparation from Piero Sarale
of La Gelateria Italian Frozen Desserts)

Water base:
2 pints (1 liter) of water
200 grams of granulated sugar
10 to 15 grams of a powdered food stabilizer like gelatin

Fruit puree (or other flavor choice, such as champagne or chocolate)

(NOTE:a gram equals 0.035 ounces).

Bring the water to a boil. Next, mix the dry ingredients (granulated sugar and gelatin) in a separate bowl. When the water is boiling, add the sugar mixture, using an egg beater to blend.

Let the water base "age" by cooling to room temperature (70 to 80 degrees), and letting it sit overnight or at least a couple hours. Let it sit on a counter or in the refrigerator.

Divide the water base in half or in thirds to make make two or three different flavors, or make one large batch of your favorite flavor.

Whatever you decide to do, you need to plan ahead because different fruits require different amounts of the food stabilizer.

This natural product helps to hold all of the components of the sorbetto together and give it a smooth, creamy texture. Thick, meaty fruits like mango, banana or papaya need less gelatin to hold them together (about 10 grams) whereas thin, watery fruits or flavor choices like lemons, limes or champagne need more stabilizer (about 15 grams) to add density.

The final ratio for your sorbetto will also vary depending on the flavor you choose. Therefore, this recipe includes two ratios: the first for thick flavors and the second for thin flavors. You be the judge of those flavors that fall in between.

Thick flavors (mango, banana, papaya):
50 percent water base
20 percent fruit puree
30 percent water

Thin flavors (chocolate, champagne, lemon, lime):
50 percent water base
30 percent fruit puree or flavor
20 percent water

(NOTE: Chocolate sorbetto is made by using chocolate powder or melted chocolate.)

Once you've chosen your flavor or flavors and made the necessary adjustments, simply mix the fruit puree or flavor with water and then add the final solution to the water base according to the indicated ratio, mix well and taste test. If your sorbetto is too sweet, you can add lemon juice to cut down on the sweetness.

When the sorbetto flavor is to your satisfaction, place it in a homemade ice cream machine. You should mix either the entire batch or the amount prescribed by the machine you own.

Sorbetto should be served at 5 to 10 degrees and stored in a freezer kept at 0 to 5 degrees. An entire batch should make about 4 pints (2 liters).

For an eye-catching presentation, you may wish to serve fruit sorbetto in the original rind.

To do this, save the rinds you used in making the sorbetto, clean the fruit out and freeze them so they will hold their shape. Then, refill the rinds with sorbetto.

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Favorite fruits have
many uses in frozen form

By Malia Rulon
Star-Bulletin

Here are some ways to give fresh fruits an icy twist. They're light, nutritious and ridiculously simple.

Fruit Smoothie Pops

Remember all your favorite recipes for fruit smoothies? Well, take those delicious creations a step further and freeze them.

The following recipe can be used to make different fruit drinks, including pineapple, banana or strawberry smoothies.

1 cup sliced fruit
1 cup fruit juice or cold milk
2 tablespoon granulated sugar or Produce Partners Smoothie Mix from supermarkets
1-1/2 cups of crushed ice or 8 good-sized ice cubes

Blend all ingredients at high speed for 30 seconds or until well-blended.

(NOTE: if using ice cubes, add one cube at a time, and if using granulated sugar, heat with 1/2 teaspoon water until liquid before adding to smoothie.)

Combine fruits to make strawberry/banana or other customized recipes. After you blend the smoothie, pour it into frozen dessert molds to freeze into smoothie pops.

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Approximate nutritional analysis per Banana Smoothie Pop: 60 calories, 1 gram total fat, no saturated fat, no cholesterol, no sodium. Difference per Pineapple Pop: 50 calories. Difference per Strawberry Pop: 45 calories. For whole recipe smoothies: 370, 300 and 275 calories respectively, plus 5 milligrams sodium.*

Frozen Fruit Cubes

Adding ice to juice cools it down, but unless you drink really fast, you'll end up with a watered-down version of your favorite drink. Here's a solution: Instead of using ice cubes, try fruit cubes. Pour your favorite fruit juices into ice cube trays and freeze.

The next time you serve those juices, plop in matching or contrasting fruit cubes. For instance, add a tart taste of lemon or kiwi to sweet apple juice.

Not fancy enough? Try cutting small slices of your favorite fruits and placing them in the ice cube tray with the fruit juice. Next time you serve grape juice, you can add a couple grape juice cubes with frozen grapes inside them.

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Approximate nutritional analysis per fruit cube: 5 to 15 calories depending on size and type of fruit used, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium. *

Frozen Fruit Pops

Think of some of your favorite fruits -- strawberries, grapes, mango. Chances are, if you love these fruits naturally, you'll love them even more frozen.

You can freeze small and large fruits. For small fruits like strawberries and grapes, simply wash and freeze on a platter. Stick toothpicks in them for easy serving.

For larger fruits like bananas, mango, cantaloupe or pineapple, cut the fruit into desired slices and insert craft sticks into them before freezing. (Ben Franklin sells 1,000 Forester Craft Sticks for $2.99, and Price Busters, 45-934 Kam Hwy., Suite A1, sells 200 Hobby Play-craft Sticks for $1.49).

These frozen delights can served immediately once they freeze.

Those who don't mind extra calories can also dip these natural desserts into chocolate sauce.

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Approximate nutritional analysis per grape: 5 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium. Other fruit will vary in calories depending on size and type. *