When I was younger, my mom used to throw these fabulous dinner parties with her friends, complete with the finest china, silver and beautiful printed menus. The women who threw these elaborate suppers called themselves “The Dames”. I remember one evening when my mom let me have a taste of a lemon sorbet that they were serving in cutout lemon baskets - I’ll never forget it. She told me it was to cleanse the palate between courses, and I thought it was the most sophisticated and special thing I’d ever eaten. This sorbet is my tribute to The Dames. Here, I use yuzu citrus instead of lemon. It has a fantastic tart taste that walks the line between lemon and lime (plus a touch of fresh orange zest for good measure). While I might not serve this in a hand-carve citrus basket, I still think they would approve.
Skill Level: Moderate
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours for sorbet to set in the freezer
Yield: Serves 8
4 cups (800 g) sugar
4 cups (940 ml) water
1 cup (240 ml) yuzu juice (from 8 fresh small yuzu or bottled, or the juice of 4 small lemons and 4 small limes)
1 ½ tablespoons (9g) freshly grated orange zest
Fresh mint leaves, for garnishing
Prepare large ice bath.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the sugar and water. Bring to a boil. Cook for about 4 minutes, whisking , until the sugar dissolves. Carefully pour the hot syrup into a medium bowl and set the bowl in the ice bath to cool, whisking every 5 minutes until completely cooled, about 20 minutes in all.
Remove the bowl from the ice bath and store in the yuzu juice and orange zest. Pour the sorbet base into a 9X13 inch (23 x 33 cm) baking dish and transfer it to the freezer. Freeze the sorbet, stirring the mixture every hour with a fork, until set, soft and smooth, at least 4 hours.
Scoop the sorbet into small bowls, garnish with the mint leaves, and serve right away.