Wine In My Kitchen: Cooking and Reading Everyday

By Karen Tripson

Sorbet in Any Season Is a Symbol
of Fine Dining

Alexander the Great, Nero, Marco Polo and Catherine de Medici are all players in the saga of sorbet becoming a popular food around the world. Refreshing after a long day of battle, a hot day at the beach, or in the middle of a ten-course meal, flavored ice is the gourmand's best friend. Sorbet cleanses and refreshes the palate to begin again when nature signals a halt to the revelry. The Italians probably brought it to France as a novelty of the orient, but the clever French get credit for developing sorbet as a symbol of fine dining.

The Quick Science of Flavored Ice
Anticipation of the meal to come or stimulation by acids in wine or foods jump-starts the salivary glands into producing gastric juices. As hunger abates and the tongue gets coated with oils, the ability to really taste with the tongue diminishes, as do the gastric juices. Your nose is likely doing the tasting at that point even if you are unaware of it. Sorbet served at this moment cools and cleans the tongue. Citric acids in the sorbet re-start the gastric juices. You and your mouth are suddenly ready for more.

Texture is the Difference Between Sorbets and Granitas
Sorbets and granitas have the same ingredients but neither contains any dairy. The difference between them is texture created by the freezing process. Sorbets are creamier due to churning, whipping or beating during freezing. Granitas are not stirred in any way while freezing, which makes the texture more like ice shavings when scrapped into serving dishes. The common American interpretation of sorbet, sherbet, contains egg whites or cream and is typically too sweet to act as a palate refresher.

Sugar Syrup, Citric Acid and Fruit
Sugar syrup is essential to flavored ices for slowing down the freezing process and creating a smooth texture that's not just ice. Making a well-balanced sorbet requires citric acids to counterpoint with the sugar. Lemon juice is more versatile than orange or lime juice. Only fresh juices are used. The rest, typically fruit purees, plus spirits and herbs for flavorings, is up to the chef and has no boundaries.

The Art of the Chef
The talent that creates amazing tasting menus wants the diner's attention to the very end — and to accomplish that end — sorbets receive a lot of attention from chefs. Signature sorbets showcase the chef's creativity with flavors, aromas and colors. It's a highly personal way of enhancing and contrasting the flavors in the menu. Creating a sorbet that works with the menu is very similar to the magic of a great food and wine pairing: the result is better than either of the parts.

Leading Edge Apple Sorbet
A signature sorbet, equally famous as any other innovative dish on the menu, is flavored with apple at Tetsuya, in Sydney, Australia, owned by Chef Tetsuya Wakuda.

A Classic Red Wine Granita
Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia, owned by Chef Georges Perrier, is a world-class destination for French dining awarded Five Stars by the Mobile Travel Guide.

Many more sorbet recipes can be found at the Food TV Web site.