Why You Should Never Underestimate the Power of Sorbet

How a Simple Palate Cleanser Can Make An Impact

Sorbet is sherbet’s boring uncle. Sherbet is not quite as cool as ice cream but strives to hang out at the cool kid’s table. If any of you can remember ice milk, ice milk is just weird. This story is about sorbet.

Sorbet is simple to make. Sorbet is a fruit puree with sugar. The most effective way to incorporate your sugar into the puree is by making a simple syrup. Here’s a recipe for you to try.

Any Kind Fruit Sorbet

1 cup Fruit Puree (Peach, Mango, or Strawberry) 1/2 cup Simple Syrup (1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup white sugar) 1 tea vanilla

• Puree fruit in a blender.
• Scoop out the fruit into a bowl or 11 x 11 pan.
• Add simple syrup. Mix together. Add vanilla.

When adding sugar, you may have to use your tasting skills as a guide. If you add less sugar, the sorbet may not mix together and freeze properly. If there is too much sugar, the sorbet will be too sweet and you risk the sorbet turning grainy.

The puree will also turn into a solid fruit block after you freeze. The easiest way to enjoy a block-free sorbet is to leave it out to thaw or run it in your microwave on defrost mode. If you want to get all fancy and professional, introduce a stabilizer into the original base.

The three best choices are alcohol, pectin, and gelatin. A few tablespoons of liquor will lower the freezing point. Adding too much will turn your sorbet into a fancy, frozen drink.

You can also add 1 teaspoon of pectin per quart of juice. Pectin is the natural emulsifier polysaccharide. It is necessary to boil the pectin with sugar for one full minute to ensure that it is properly hydrated. Gelatin is another handy stabilizer. It adds great body to the base, which significantly reduces the size of the ice crystals that develop during freezing. Adding 1 teaspoon of powdered gelatin or 2 sheets of sheet gelatin can improve a quart of the base.

Why Sorbet is Important

Sorbet is okay. It’s a wonderful refresher that lets your mouth get ready between tastings. A nice tomato basil sorbet would be a nice set up to go from a delicate dish such as a lobster and scallop risotto to a course of braised beef short ribs with a miso reduction.

I like ice cream better, especially the Ben and Jerry’s with the peanut butter fudge core. Ice cream feels grander and lights up the crowd. Sorbet is almost a little too mild. There’s no fat in it. Fat is tasty and fulfilling. A bacon, maple, and walnut sorbet anyone?

Here’s why sorbet can transcend itself and become the most powerful dessert in the universe. About seven years ago, I made a mango sorbet. It was very tasty and one of my favorites. It also turned out to play a significant part in someone’s life.

Food can heal the spirit

I made this sorbet at the request of a family member. Someone that they had once worked with had been diagnosed with brain cancer. This person had been at home and losing weight and was unable to cook or take care of themselves.

They were undergoing cancer treatment and too tired to cook. Her appetite was fading and the only thing that appealed to her was comfort food. She had been getting things from Cracker Barrel, a meat and three type of place, but had grown tired of their menu.

She wanted me to do something for her and was looking for me to cook up a number of great dishes. Things that she could pull from the freezer and reheat. Enough to last a few weeks. The thought was that I would prepare some pre-made meals for “Andrea,” with hopes that she could maintain her weight.

I created a menu that included mushroom risotto, chicken velvet soup, butternut squash, red pepper bisque, and of course mango sorbet. I packed up my meals and drove off for delivery.

Andrea meets the sorbet

I arrived at her condominium and was greeted by a lady at the door. She introduced herself as Andrea’s caregiver and let me inside. As I stepped through the foyer to the kitchen, I saw a crumpled form of a being laid out on a small bench. Andrea was covered in a colorful hand-stitched quilt and was unresponsive.

I began to put away the food and spoke to the caregiver. She looked over the food and made comments about how appreciative she was and how wonderful everything sounded. We were both paused by groans and noises coming from Andrea. “She’s not doing well.” I listened and nodded. Andrea spoke a few unclear sentences, something to the effect of her being thankful and that she was in pain. I stayed for a few more minutes and said I’d be back in a week or so with a new order.

Driving home I remembered her cries of pain and lying on that bench. Dealing with my own life challenges at the time, my mind wandered to my next task. The next day I received word from my family member that the only thing Andrea could eat was the mango sorbet and that she loved it.

Later that week, Andrea passed away in her home.

This sorbet ended up being special for a number of reasons. It was someone’s last meal. I found comfort being a part of someone’s last days on earth and I hope that the sorbet provided a sliver of comfort for Andrea. By helping a perfect stranger, I did a lot more than just making a frozen dessert.

We can always reach out and connect with people. Never underestimate the power of sorbet or whatever you do that helps others. Know that what you do is always powerful and has an impact. You are not nothing! You are a being. A force that can light and that can diminish. Choose the light! Remember that and stop comparing and minimizing yourself. It is not fitting.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

• Marianne Williamson

Josh Kiev is an actor, chef, and will always remember that mango sorbet.

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