Pineapple Sorbet

This particular sorbet took several iterations to get right. Our first attempts weren't very systematic, but we finally took a slow-and-steady approach to iterating on this and now we have a fantastic sorbet to share.

We tried this with varying amounts of lime juice, sugar, lime zest as well as with raw, grilled, and sous vide pineapple. Several different iterations are good, a few were the best, and we are sharing the best here.

In particular, we found that the agave nectar (or corn syrup) is necessary; it allows the sorbet to be smoother and less grainy than just pineapple. Incorporating lime juice will enhance the pineapple flavor, so it's highly recommended.

Sous Vide Pineapple

Pineapple is an amazing fruit. I love the flavor, tartness, and sweetness.

The first recipe I tried when making a sorbet was with canned pineapple. I loved the final texture of the sorbet, but unfortunately a tinny flavor permeates the canned pineapple and thus the sorbet.

My wife, Pineapple, and I wanted something similar to the canned pineapple result, but without the tininess. This means we wanted to preserve the texture, keep the pineapple flavor high, make the fibrous texture low, and eliminate the tin.

For our next attempt we chose to go with raw pineapple; we filled a pint with raw pineapple, froze it, and processed the pint on "sorbet" but found that the flavor wasn't sweet enough and the pineapple flavor was dull. Also, my mouth and my gut do not like it when I eat more than about a scoop of raw pineapple.

Lemon Sorbet

Corn products do not agree with my body so I try and avoid them. Thankfully agave syrup is an acceptable substitute for corn syrup, so I use it instead.

Lemon juice is a common ingredient in my sorbet recipes. I often make several different ice cream/sorbet pints at the same time so that I can select among them when a craving strikes. Consequently, I will prepare 1-2 cups of lemon juice and just use 1/2 cup for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup cane sugar (I prefer organic)
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup (or corn syrup)
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (I prefer fresh juice from lemons which requires 2-3 lemons in this case)

Directions

1. Prepare the lemon juice
1. Cut lemons
2. Squeeze out lemon juice
3. Scrape out the pulp
4. Blend the pulp and lemon juice for ten seconds
2. In a large bowl, mix the cane sugar, warm water, agave syrup, and lemon juice until the cane sugar fully dissolves
3. Pour the mixture into a CREAMi Pint
4. Freeze for 2 hours and check whether the pulp has risen; If so, stir the mixture
5. Freeze for 22 more hours
6. Process on Sorbet
7. Serve and enjoy!

Grape Lemon Sorbet

I've been experimenting with sorbet recipes for use in my Ninja CREAMi. This recipe was an instant hit, and everyone is likely to enjoy it. It's a sorbet derived from the same flavor combinations in my grape lemonade smoothie.

Pineapple and I have gone through two iterations to get to this and on the second iteration we tried it with three different kinds of grapes, in the order shown in the following photo: black seedless sabel grapes, red seedless table grapes, and green seedless grapes. 

Vegan Sweet Potato Pie Ice Cream

One of the experimental ideas Pineapple had was to create a sweet potato pie-style ice cream. So we experimented a bit. She gave me a basic idea of what she wanted (sweet potato and cinnamon with the ice cream base) and I tried it out. The first iteration needed cinnamon. The next, needed something crunchy. Finally, it needed some salt and now we have a winner!

The cinnamon and sweet potato really shine in this ice cream. The salt helps keep the sweet potato lively. The texture of the ice cream is amazingly smooth and the mix-in helps you get the crunch that would normally come from the crust of an actual pie. The oat milk is also necessary to help bring in the pie crust flavor.

You will need to cook the sweet potato beforehand. The Ninja CREAMi is not intended to blend anything; a frozen, raw sweet potato will probably damage the machine and would likely give you a fibrous, stringy texture. Cooking the sweet potato in the sous vide will preserve the sweet potato flavor while softening the sweet potato and breaking down the fibers. You could try baking or boiling the sweet potato, but I cannot guarantee the results.

Ninja CREAMi: Ice Cream is Back!

There are 2 big things I miss on my diet: ice cream and potato chips. I can now have ice cream again, albeit a little different from what I used to get.

Because dairy (i.e. cow's milk) now bothers my digestion I cut it out entirely. I found some sheep's milk and goat milk ice creams, but those include guar gum which makes my mouth feel fuzzy. I've gotten pure coconut ice creams, but those also contain guar gum.

I've purchased several different sorbets. Sometimes they work for me, but only if they do not include guar gum or other bean derivatives nor anything I am allergic to like mango or kiwi. Consequently, for me there is a dearth of other sorbet options. So I often do without.