← Nouns Cooking · Dessert Parlour

Ingredients

• 250 g caster sugar
• 500 ml Water
• 5 unwaxed lemons (to give 200 ml juice)
• 2 tbsp Vodka (optional)

Method

1. Pare a thick strip of peel from one lemon and finely zest half of another. Squeeze the lemons until you have 200 ml of juice.
2. Put the sugar, water and strip of peel in a pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 3 min. Take off the heat, stir in the zest and cool completely.
3. Remove the peel strip, then stir in the lemon juice and vodka, if using.
4. Churn in an ice-cream machine for 20–25 min, until thick and snowy, then freeze in a tub for 2 hours to firm up.
5. No machine? Pour into a shallow tub and freeze, scraping and mashing it with a fork every 30 min for about 3 hours, until smooth and frozen.
6. Leave at room temperature for 5 min before scooping.

Tips

• A splash of vodka keeps the sorbet softer and easier to scoop because alcohol doesn't freeze; leave it out for children.
• Some Italian versions fold in a whisked egg white for a fluffier texture, which makes it no longer vegan; the white stays raw, so use pasteurised egg white for anyone pregnant or vulnerable.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food GialloZafferano