Frozen Delights: A Spoonful More Sugar

Filed in archive Tricks & Techniques on May 24, 2006

Over the weekend, I had to make some lime sorbet for a big affair. There was the lime juice, the zest, some syrup and water. Before churning the ice cream maker, I tasted the mixture. It was fine, a little extra sweet to make room for when it freezes.

I blended the sorbet every now and then to make sure it was smooth. I also did a taste-test now and then. It was very smooth when frozen but the sweetness was drastically reduced. Fortunately, it was meant as a palate cleanser and not dessert.

So, today's tip is to add more sugar if you are freezing something such as ice creams or sorbets. The cold somewhat numbs our tastebuds therefore blunting the sweetness and other flavours. Taste the mixture before freezing, add half more than the usual amount if you want it to be discernably sweet.