I’m taking advantage of this scorching heat to share with you a delicious homemade sorbet recipe that I discovered this summer: a strawberry sorbet inspired by Christophe Michalak’s recipe. Personally, I’m a fan of the strawberry and basil pairing (or strawberry and mint), so I added a few basil leaves. This strawberry and basil sorbet will delight young and old alike!
I made another change to the recipe, and that’s the amount of sugar. In the chef’s recipe, you add 100 g of caster sugar to make the syrup. I reduced it to 70 g and found it was still a little too sweet for my taste. That’s why I suggest here using only 60 g. I had the chance to make this recipe several times this summer and I can confirm it was better with 60 g. Obviously, you need to take into account the sweetness of your strawberries. That’ll be up to you to judge and adjust to your personal taste.
Which strawberries should you choose?
If you want a sorbet with real flavour, I advise you to buy French strawberries at the height of the season. Depending on the strawberry varieties, you can still find some on the stalls of your favourite shops.
This summer, we went for the pick-your-own option and frankly, it’s an excellent way to buy quality strawberries at a really reasonable price (not to mention the pride of having picked them ourselves). A kilo of strawberries was about €6. Given the current price of ingredients (including fruit), we got a great deal!
Why use glucose?
In this sorbet recipe, there are no specific ingredients such as stabiliser. Is that why we use glucose? Here it gives the sorbet suppleness and prevents crystallisation. Don’t ask me what you can replace the glucose with… it’s essential in this recipe 😉
Which machine should you use? Ice cream maker or compressor ice cream machine?
An ice cream maker and a compressor ice cream machine both have a bowl into which you pour the mixture, as well as a motor that turns the paddles for churning (this prevents crystals from forming). The difference between these machines lies in the type of bowl and their features, but the principle remains the same.
If you own an ice cream maker, it’s probably because you have a bit of room in your freezer. Indeed, you mustn’t forget to put the ice cream maker’s bowl in the freezer at least 12h beforehand (it stores the cold to then turn the mixture into ice cream). Personally, I never have much room in my freezer; it’s a nightmare fitting an entremets in!
A compressor machine, on the other hand, produces its own cold thanks to a built-in compressor, just like a freezer. So you just need to put the mixture in the bowl and switch the machine on. The machine takes up a bit more storage space, admittedly, but nothing has to go in my freezer.
Ingredients & method
2 components · Full recipe
Making the strawberry basil sorbet
Ingredients
- 300 g (10.6 oz) fresh strawberries
- 80 g (2.8 oz) water
- 60 g (2.1 oz) glucose
- 60 g (2.1 oz) sugar (Michalak uses 200 g (7.1 oz))
- 5 large basil leaves
Method
1
Start by washing and hulling the strawberries then place them in a tall container (such as a jug). Blend everything with an immersion blender.
2
In a small saucepan, heat the water to 45°C / 113°F (no need for a thermometer — it should feel warm to the touch).
3
Add the caster sugar and glucose syrup then bring the mixture to 85°C / 185°F (a thermometer is recommended here).
4
Pour the syrup over the strawberry purée, add the basil and blend again with the immersion blender. Cover with cling film directly on the surface and refrigerate for several hours (I do this the evening before).
Churning the strawberry basil sorbet
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Once the mixture is thoroughly cold, pour it into the ice cream maker through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the basil leaves.
2
Churn for about 40 minutes then transfer to a container and place in the freezer. At this stage the sorbet is still very soft but will firm up once frozen.
3
To scoop nice balls of sorbet, I recommend taking it out 5 to 10 minutes before serving as it is quite firm. If using a sorbet maker, remember to place the bowl in the freezer the night before.
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