Sherbet:
There is nothing like crystals of flavored water ice melting on your tongue on a scorching summer day. Water ice or as it’s normally known as Sorbet is a frozen dessert. This semi-frozen ice cream is like ice cream but on the verge of melting and super crystal-like icy. One can top it with seasonal fruits or syrup and enjoy it! It is developed from sweetened water and flavored with a variety of flavors like fruit juice, wine, purée, or honey. It is healthy as it contains a negligible amount of fat and dairy products.
Historical Perspective!
This icy dessert is widely believed to have stemmed from ancient Persia. Although unsupported by any known concrete evidence, sherbet is punctuated by many legendary origin folklores and myths. One of the myths includes the grand historical figures like Marco Polo, the Renaissance-era Italian duchess Catherine de Medici, and Roman Emperor Nero!
As for the word, sherbet embraced the Italian language as sorbetto, and the Italians attributed the dessert to the drink enjoyed by the Turks. From sorbetto, the word turned to French sorbet! It was a neat journey of sherbets to sorbets!
As for the dessert itself, sherbet was first visualized in Europe! In the exploration age of the 17th Century, the Ottoman Empire sold sherbet powders made from dried fruits and flowers in a mixture of sugar to English merchants. From there, the sherbet was sold in various shops across English. By the year 1662, in London, a coffee shop advertised sherbet and stated that “here sells “sherbets made in Turkie of Lemons, Roses and Violets perfumed.” To this day, the United Kingdom still enjoys the flavors of sherbet, which is imported from southern Asia.
Moreover, In 1670, Francesco Procopio Dei Coltelli opened Café Procope in Paris. He began to sell sorbet. This cafe is the same place credited with the popularity of Gelato as well as the maker of the ice cream machine!
From Turkey, England, to Paris, Sherbet became extremely notorious. However, it became even more deliciously frozen when the Europeans decided to freeze their sherbet into sorbetto. They did this by mixing fruit juices and various flavors into a frozen simple syrup base. It was served with crushed ice and topped with extra slices of fruits and syrup.
From Europe, Sherbet settled in the United States. Here it developed a new variant consisting of ice milk! Other versions include the likes of sherbet found in soda fountain manuals. These types included a delicious mixture of gelatin, cream, or milk and beaten egg whites!
Is it Ice cream, Sorbet, Sherbert or what?!
Sherbet tends to bring a lot of confusion. People often confuse Sherbet with sorbet and sherbert. But here’s the thing, there is a huge difference between the three!
Difference between ice cream and Sherbet
So, what makes it any different from regular ice cream? Well, for starters, both require nearly the same making process. The difference lies in their ingredients. While, Sherbet consists of less than two per cent cream or milk, and is made from fruit puree. Ice cream is nearly fifty per cent of dairy products (milk or cream).
Sherbet is slightly denser than fluffy, creamy ice cream. Ice cream may use egg yolks as stabilizers. In contrast, Sherbet uses vegetable gum. As sherbet has less cream, its texture is not thick or creamy. Whereas, ice cream is all creamy, rich, and flexible. While Sherbet thrives on flavors containing organic fruits, ice cream has a versatile range of flavors, from chocolate to green tea.
When it comes to temperature, Ice cream is kept at a high temperature. Whereas, sherbet is cooled at 10°F. This gives it a denser, extravagant, and crystal-like flavor.
Difference between Sherbet and Sorbet
Often when people hear the words sherbert, sherbet, and sorbet—-they find it hard to differentiate between the three. But it’s time to debunk the mystery. Firstly, in many parts of the world especially in Persian and Indian regions, the term sherbert is often assigned to a powdery substance that when mixed with water, produces a beverage. It is fruity, often rose-flavored but can be found in other flavors.
However, Sherbert is also misspelled and used interchangeably with Sherbet (yup, there’s no ‘r’ in bet). Sherbet, as we know, is a fruit-based or little (2%) milk-based frozen dessert. It is confused with Sorbet. And what exactly is sorbet? Sorbet is a completely fruit-based frozen delicacy. The main difference between sorbet and sherbet lies in their dairy-product content. While sherbet uses a mini amount of milk or cream, Sorbet is completely dairy-free. This factor makes sorbet a delicious frozen dessert for vegan and lactose intolerant ice cream lovers.
So, does sherbet contain dairy products?
Yes and No. Yes because it contains a little amount of milk (2%) for its smooth, crystal-like texture. No, because the amount of dairy products isn’t as high as regular ice cream.
As for the cream, Sherbet does contain like a ½ cup of cream to make it slightly smooth and creamy without overpowering the quick drippy, and crystal-like texture.
Sherbe-tips
You can make sherbet with limes, lemons, watermelons, oranges, and strawberries. If you want a fresh, natural taste. Take your favorite fruit, say strawberry, and crush them in a blender to create a puree. You can follow the above recipe and instead of fruit juice, add your fresh puree to the mixture. It will taste heavenly.
Wrapping Up
Phew, at least the confusion between ice cream, ‘sherbet this and sherbert that’ is over. And you got yourself a brand historical outlook on this frozen treat! The tip of the day is to make sherbet with seasonal fruit. In this way, you will get to enjoy water-ice with the fruit!
If you are interested in recipes to make sherbet, simply hop on to Tasty Ice Cream. We have got lots and lots of frozen tricks and treats. It’s all ice-ice baby~