Watermelon Sorbet

 

Summer time desserts are some of the best; they don't take any to little heat to make them and they are perfectly satisfying on a hot day.  As I have mentioned before I am an ice cream kind of girl, but I had this big watermelon sitting on my counter and we just hadn't gotten around to eating it and I was afraid it would go to waste. So I thought way not use up half of it at one time to make it go a little faster, and that is where the idea for doing a sorbet comes in. I've never made a sorbet before, but when we first got our ice cream maker that was one of the things I wanted to make.

In the process of researching how to make a sorbet I learned what the difference is between a sorbet, a sherbert, and Italian ice.  

• Sherberts are fruit juice or flavored water that is often made with some diary and alcohol.
• Sorbet is like a sherbert but without the diary. 
• Italian ice is with larger chucks of ice. 

In my sorbet I didn't use a lot of alcohol, in fact I really don't consider what I use to be alcohol, because I used my vanilla extract.  I don't buy vanilla extract that you get in the store, I make my own...well, kind of. Some vanilla extracts are not gluten free, which is why you'll see some other gluten free bloggers doing what I do, however, I learned this form my mom.

I take dark rum and add a vanilla bean to it and voila I have vanilla extract. Some bloggers use bourbon or brandy, but I prefer rum. Making vanilla extract this way makes it last a long time and it can be very frugal. Vanilla, the bean itself, can be expensive and most spice companies that sell whole beans make you buy two at a time. What I like to do is split the cost of the beans with my mom. We each pay for half and each of us get a bean to use to make vanilla extract. I think we only buy beans about every two years or so, it sure lasts a long time.

Many sorbet recipes I saw had vanilla extract and some sort of alcohol in it as well, so I just bit two birds with one stone, and I didn't have to use as much alcohol as most recipes called for, which is great if you don't buy alcohol or don't want to buy a whole bottle just for part of one recipe.

Watermelon Sorbet
1/2 of 5-7lbs seedless watermelon cut into cubes (you'll need enough to make 2 quarts pureed)
1/2-1juice of a lemon (depending on how juicy it is)
2 Tbs vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey or liquid sweetner

If you have an ice cream maker make sure it is prepared in advance to be used, mine has to be in the freezer for 24 hours before use. If you don't have one, you can use a rectangular cake pan.

In a blender puree all of the watermelon, you'll need enough for 2 quarts of liquid watermelon juice. Feel free to adjust the amount depending on the size of your ice cream maker or pan. Pour watermelon puree through a strainer to catch all the seeds, push as much of the pulp through. In a large measuring cup or bowl mix together the rest of the ingredient. The sweetness and tartness can be adjusting to your taste.

Pour into your ice cream maker and follow the directions for your machine. I have a Kitchen Aid one and I let mine go for 40 minutes. It didn't really freeze like ice cream, but it got icy then the rest of the freezing happened in the freezer. The alcohol keeps it from completely freezing in the machine.  If you use a pan, just pour the melon mixture into the pan and freeze. Every 30 minutes come back and with a fork scrape up the sorbet. You will do this for several hours, till it comes to the right texture, kind of fluffy.