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Sorbet (, ) is a
frozen dessert Frozen dessert is a dessert made by freezing liquids, semi-solids, and sometimes solids. They may be based on flavored water ( shave ice, ice pops, sorbet, snow cones), on fruit purées (such as sorbet), on milk and cream (most ice creams, ...
made using ice combined with fruit juice, fruit
purée A purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually vegetables, fruits or legumes, that has been ground, pressed, blended or sieved to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid. Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., appl ...
, or other ingredients, such as wine, liqueur, or honey. Sorbet does not contain dairy products. Sherbet is similar to sorbet, but contains dairy.


Etymology

The word ''sorbet'' entered English from French, derived from Italian ''sorbetto'', which in turn came from the
Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...
or Iranian ''
sharbat Sharbat may refer to: * Sharbat (drink), a Middle Eastern variety of cordial * Sharbat Ali Changezi, Pakistani fighter pilot * Sharbat Gula, the subject of the ''Afghan Girl'' cover photograph on the front cover of ''National Geographic'' maga ...
'', originally referring to a type of beverage. The word ''sharbat'' is derived from the Arabic verb ''shariba'', which means "to drink". Sherbet in Europe still refers to a type of flavored drink, while North American sherbet is similar to sorbet. August Escoffier describes sorbet as "very light and barely-congealed ices, served after the Entrées. They serve in freshening the stomach, preparing it to properly receive the roast. They are appetizers and help to aid digestion".August Escoffier, ''The Escoffier Cook Book'', 1976, , translation of ''
Le Guide Culinaire ''Le Guide Culinaire'' () is Georges Auguste Escoffier's 1903 French restaurant cuisine cookbook, his first. It is regarded as a classic and still in print. Escoffier developed the recipes while working at the Savoy, Ritz and Carlton hotels fro ...
'', 1903, p. 853
Sorbet is sometimes referred to as "water ice".


History

It is believed that sorbets originated in
ancient Persia The history of Iran (also known as Persia) is intertwined with Greater Iran, which is a socio-cultural region encompassing all of the areas that have witnessed significant settlement or influence exerted by the Iranian peoples and the Iranian ...
as far back as 550–530 BC. There are a number of legendary origin myths, unsupported by any known evidence, that attribute the origins of sorbet to historical figures like the Roman Emperor
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
,
Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...
, and the Italian duchess and French queen
Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...
. Romans did not add ice to their drinks because easily accessible ice along the lower slopes of mountains was not sanitary for use in food preparation. Iced drinks were believed to cause convulsions, colic and a host of other ailments.
Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; ; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician and philosopher of the Classical Greece, classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is traditionally referr ...
was known to have criticized chilled drinks for causing "fluxes of the stomach", while Seneca lambasted the extravagant costs associated with iced desserts. Despite this, ice and snow were prized ingredients in ancient cuisines including Japanese, Chinese, and
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
cuisines. The first Western mention of ''sherbet'' is an Italian reference to something that Turks drink. The word ''sherbet'' entered the Italian language as ''sorbetto'', which later became ''sorbet'' in French. August Escoffier describes sorbet as "very light and barely-congealed ices, served after the Entrées. They serve in freshening the stomach; preparing it to properly receive the roast. They are appetizers and help to aid digestion". He recommends that they register 15° on the saccharometer and be of drinkable consistency. The first recipe in French for flavored ices appears in 1674, in Nicholas Lemery's ''Recueil de curiositéz rares et nouvelles de plus admirables effets de la nature''. Recipes for ''sorbetti'' saw publication in the 1694 edition of Antonio Latini's ''Lo Scalco alla Moderna'' (The Modern Steward). Recipes for flavored ices begin to appear in François Massialot's ''Nouvelle Instruction pour les Confitures, les Liqueurs, et les Fruits'', starting with the 1692 edition. Massialot's recipes result in a coarse, pebbly texture. Latini claims that the results of his recipes should have the fine consistency of sugar and snow. When Europeans figured out how to freeze sherbet they began making ''sorbetto'' by adding fruit juices and flavorings to a frozen
simple syrup In cooking, syrup (less commonly sirup; from ; , beverage, wine and ) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a Solution (chemistry), solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but ...
base. In the US, sherbet generally meant an ice milk, but recipes from early
soda fountain A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated soft drinks, called fountain drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores. The machine combines flavored syrup or syrup concentrat ...
manuals included ingredients such as gelatin, beaten egg whites, cream, or milk.


Preparation

Like granitas and other ices, sorbet can be made without an ice cream maker. Alcohol, honey or corn syrup can be added to lower the freezing point and make softer sorbets. Sorbet is usually made with fresh fruit and simple syrup, but other types of preparations exist. Tart sorbets are served as palate cleansers between savory courses of a meal.
Mulled wine Mulled wine, also known as spiced wine, is an alcoholic drink usually made with red wine, along with various mulling spices and sometimes raisins, served hot or warm. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas. It is ...
sorbet can be made with red wine, orange, lemons, mulling spices, ruby port, and egg whites. Muscat sorbet is made with
dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a mea ...
, lemon juice, and egg whites.
Coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
sorbets are
shaved ice Shaved ice is a large family of ice-based desserts made of fine shavings of ice and sweet condiments or syrups. Usually, the syrup is added after the ice has been frozen and shaved—typically at the point of sale; however, flavoring can also be ...
and a combination of coconut water, coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut flakes and muscovado. Givré (French for "frosted") is the term for a sorbet served in a frozen
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
shell or hollowed-out fruit, such as a lemon. Agraz is a type of sorbet with an acidic flavor attributed by '' Larousse Gastronomique'' to the
Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...
region of North Africa. It is made from
almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...
s, verjuice, and sugar.


See also

*
Frozen dessert Frozen dessert is a dessert made by freezing liquids, semi-solids, and sometimes solids. They may be based on flavored water ( shave ice, ice pops, sorbet, snow cones), on fruit purées (such as sorbet), on milk and cream (most ice creams, ...
* Italian ice *
Ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...
*
Gelato Gelato (; ; ) refers to a specific type of ice cream of Italian origin. In Italian, ''Gelato'' is the common word for all types of ice cream. Artisanal gelato in Italy generally contains 6–9% butterfat, which is lower than other styles of ...
*
Iranian cuisine Iranian cuisine comprises the culinary traditions of Iran. Due to the historically common usage of the term "Name of Iran, Persia" to refer to Iran in the Western world,Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. ...
*
Sherbet (frozen dessert) Sherbet (), sometimes referred to as sherbert (), is a frozen dessert made from water, sugar, a dairy product such as cream or milk, and a flavoring – typically fruit juice or purée, wine, liqueur, or occasionally non-fruit flavors such as van ...


References


Bibliography

* {{Authority control Frozen desserts Iranian desserts Italian cuisine Vegan cuisine