Blizzards Put Me in the Mood for Sorbet

So interview season is underway! I traveled to Springfield, Ma for my first interview this weekend, and of course, it just happened to be during the first blizzard of the year. Whereas Boston barely noticed the snow, Western Massachusetts and Connecticut were completely slammed by heavy, wet snow that destroyed trees and power lines. Many towns in the area are still without power today. I spent the night at my brother's new house and prepared for my interview in the morning without heat, hot water, or light. I'm just happy I was able to put on makeup by the light of a small flashlight balanced on the edge of the sink.

Since I spent much of this weekend freezing, I thought it would be appropriate to update the blog with my first adventure into the world of fruit sorbet. I found the recipe for mango sorbet in The Joy of Cooking with a few minor adjustments.

Tools:
-- Food Processor
-- strainer
-- ice cream maker or Kitchenaid attachment

Ingredients:
-- 3/4 cup sugar, additional sugar to taste
-- 1/2 cup water
-- 3 mangoes, peeled and pitted
-- 2 tablespoons lime juice
-- 1 tablespoon peach schnapps

First I simmered the sugar and water on the stove top for a few minutes in order to dissolve the sugar, and then I set it aside to cool. Next I peeled, pitted, and pureed the mangoes. This sorbet was one of the first things I made with my new food processor, and it was amazing! I don't know how I ever lived this long without one. I put the puree through a hand strainer just to make sure that it was all uniform. I stirred in the lime juice and peach schnapps -- it's important to add some sort of alcohol to the sorbet because it keeps the sorbet from freezing into a block of much less tasty ice and instead keeps it nice and soft. Lastly, the sugar water mixture is added (I threw some more sugar in after tasting it), and I popped the whole thing into the refrigerator for about an hour.

I set up the ice cream attachment on the kitchenaid. I always have the freezing bowl in the freezer so I can make ice cream at any moment. One final stir of the mixture, and then I was ready to pour it into the ice cream maker. It ran for about 30 minutes, and then I divided the sorbet into plastic containers to freeze for the next 4 hours. Yum!