Lemon sorbet

By: Nick Palumbo
From: Gelato Messina
Makes: 1 kg
Photographer: Billy Law

The king of sorbets! You can always judge how good a gelato maker is by the quality of their lemon sorbet.

Lemon sorbet is devilishly difficult to make properly because you are basically trying to turn water (lemon juice is virtually acidic water), which wants to freeze into a solid block, into a smooth, creamy sorbet — and not the crumbly, icy, poor excuse for a sorbet that is most often passed off as lemon sorbet (sorry, I’m being a bit harsh here, aren’t I?)

This acidity also plays havoc on the stabiliser, so balancing the correct sugar percentages and using the correct stabilisers are fundamental in perfecting this recipe.

If you can get your hands on Eureka lemons, grab a bag of them, as they are the best.

Domestic

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
480g	water
175g	sugar
55g	dextrose
55g	maltodextrin
5g	stabiliser
230g	lemon juice, (23%), assume 4% sugar (see note)

Method

Mixing

Put the water in a double boiler over a medium heat.
Put all the powders in a bowl and mix until combined. When the water hits 40°C, whisk in the powders and bring the mixture up to 65°C, whisking constantly.
Transfer the mixture to a stainless steel bowl and place in an ice bath; chill to 40°C. Cover tightly with foil and put in the freezer, stirring every 10 minutes or so until the mixture drops to 4°C, then add the lemon juice and blend well using a stick blender. Place in the fridge and let it age for 4 hours.
Churning

Turn on your gelato maker so it begins the freezing process.
Using a stick blender, blend the mixture for 1 minute, then pour into the gelato maker.
Once the mixture reaches –4°C, scoop out the sorbet and transfer to a pre-cooled stainless steel bowl, cover tightly and immediately place in the freezer.
Serving

The sorbet should be served within 2 to 3 hours after placing it in the freezer, or when it reaches –12°C. If it goes below –15°C or is left in the freezer overnight, the texture will be compromised.

Professional

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
	as above

Method

Mixing

Put the water in a pasteuriser and select high pasteurisation.
Put all the powders in a bowl and dry mix. When the water hits 40°C, whisk in the powders; the pasteuriser will take the entire mix to 85°C, then will switch to cooling phase.
Once the pasteuriser runs its cycle and gets down to 4°C, add the lemon juice and let the mixture age for 4 hours at 4°C.
Churning

Measure an appropriate amount of mixture into a measuring jug and put in a batch freezer. Within 10 to 12 minutes, your mix should be ready for extraction.
For long-term storage, up to 2 weeks: Put the sorbet in a blast freezer for 30 minutes, then store at –18°C. For short-term storage, 2 to 3 days: Put the sorbet in a storage freezer at –18°C.
Serving

The serving temperature of the sorbet should be around –11°C to –13°C.