A sorbet recipe gives a lovely and light ice cream substitute and doesn’t show that it only a blend of strawberries and sugar or sweetner. I believe they used to be used to cleanse the palate between courses in earlier centuries, but sorbet now tends to be used in place of ice-cream, or as a gorgeously light and tasty alternative on a hot day to cool us down.
To make them, it just involves freezing fruit, water, sugar and on occasion lemon juice to help it keep for longer. Recipes tend to recommend frozen strawberries, but I prefer mine fresh as the sweetner takes care of any lack of sweetness in them.
I decided to give my new stevia sweetner a try out in this version as I wanted the calories to come only from the strawberries themselves. Stevia is quite expensive so it’s something we have to think about carefully before adding to our food as a cooking ingredient. I used an ice-cream maker and the consistency was perfect for us.
When you freeze this, it will take a while but because the sugar isn’t cooked, the consistency if it is frozen too long or overnight will be like an ice pole with the water content forming larger crystals. If you are using it after a long time in the freezer, take it out so that it can defrost enough to be pliable. If you want a smoother, creamier version of sorbet, you will need to cook the sweetner into a syrup, but this did the trick for me. It all depends how you like your sorbet.
Strawberry Sorbet Recipe with Stevia Instead of Sugar (Simple, Uncooked Version)
Ingredients
- 3 heaped tablespoons Stevia I used Tesco Sweet
- 750 g Strawberries Hulled
- 2 tablespoons Lime Juice
- 150 ml Water
- 2 tablespoons Vodka/Wine or Gin Optional
Instructions
- I used the very fine stevia which didn't need heating up, but if you use the granulated kind you would need to melt the sugar in the water and bubble it for a few minutes and then leave it to cool down.
- With the fine stevia, I added it with the water and lime juice to the strawberries which were pureed. Mix it up in a blender for several minutes until you have a smooth mix. Some might prefer it to be put through a sieve at this point, but I just use mine as it comes out of the blender.
- You can taste the mix here to see if it is sweet enough for you. If it isn't sweet enough, simply add a little more stevia, whizz it around for a while, then taste once again.
- Chill the pureed mix in the fridge for an hour and put it in the ice-cream maker for 20 - 30 minutes, or until it turns to a thickening slushy consistency.
- Simply add it to a container and put it in the freezer for a couple of hours before serving.
- If you make it without an ice cream maker, put your mix into a container and put it in the freezer for a couple of hours, then take it out and put it back into the blender to whizz it up again. Then simply put it back into it's container and to the freezer once again for another couple of hours.
