[I] always wanted a ponytail. A ponytail I could position extra high on my head with hair long enough to cascade down to my shoulders, cheerleader-style, youthful, bouncy. The kind of hair, that you can flip around to express various emotions, from bitchy to bored to flirty.
I don’t have ponytail hair. Never did.
What I’ve always had is a fine, curly, frizzy, perfectly acceptable, head of hair that I’m completely grateful for. It’s just not ponytail hair. It’s not hair I can whip around to express my enthusiasm for life.
That’s how hair works, right?
Summer fruit, all of the gorgeous peaches, apricots, strawberries, and plums… they’re like a gorgeous, shiny, lustrous, perfectly bouncy, high ponytail. Showing off, effortless… a little enviable even.
Luckily, no matter what hair grows from our head, high ponytail or not… it’s our time. It’s Summer and the markets are bursting with sweet fruit flavors. Let’s get at em!
Plums are perfect just as they are. Deep purple skin. Tart with just a hint of snap when you bite through. Sweet insides. Sour as you reach the pit. They’re exactly right.
These plums are golden on the inside, but the deep purple skin is dark enough to tint the finished sorbet a lovely shade of fuchsia.
Pitted and sliced plums are boiled in a mixture of sugar and water.
Boiled to softened. Boiled to almost jam.
The plums will fall apart. The skins will separate from the fruit flesh and tint the sugar water a lovely purple.
A blender gets us one step closer to sorbet.
The cooked fruit and sugar mixture is blended completely. Skins and all. No need to strain. Everything is everything.
The mixture will be hot (it was boiling fruit) when it goes into the blender. You may need to blend in two batches. Don’t be cavalier.
The blended plum will need some quality chilling time in the refrigerator. Literal chilling… not just relaxing.
It helps if the mixture is completely cold before it’s churned into a bright pink sorbet.
Smooth and glossy, soft and sweet. This sorbet is perfectly scoop able, bright, and sweet. The high proportion of sugar makes this sorbet creamy smooth and not icy. I also love the little bits of skin.
Top with chopped salted pistachios and even a bit of chopped dark chocolate to balance the plum sorbet sweetness.
It’s Summer! Ponytail or no… what a good life it is!
Print
Sweet Plum Sorbet
- Prep Time: 720
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 12 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- just over 1 pound of ripe plums (I used 9 medium purple plums), sliced into chunks, pits discarded
- pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon vodka (optional)
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped, shelled salted pistachios
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the sliced plum, a pinch of salt and stir. Allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the plums begin to soften and breakdown. You might even find that the skins separate from the flesh of the fruit. The sugar water will be tinted purple. That’s exactly right.
- Once the fruit is softened, remove from heat and transfer to a blender. You may need to do this in two batches but I managed it in one. Add the fruit and liquid to the blender, make sure the lid is secure, place a clean towel over the lid and blend until smooth.
- The mixture will still be hot. Place in the refrigerator (in the blender… why not?) until chilled through. Leaving it overnight to chill is best.
- When ready to churn, remove from the refrigerator and stir in the lime juice and vodka (if using). Follow your ice cream machine instructions to churn to a thick, soft, sorbet. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and allow to rest in the freezer for at least 4 hours before scooping and serving.
- Top with shelled, salted pistachios just before serving. Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
44 Responses
Can i make this without churning the mixture? I don’t have an ice cream machine
I’m not sure!
Great recipe! I used Santa Rosa plums. Instead of vodka, I used slivovice (home made plum liquor). Thanks!
I made this last night I added ginger and cut the sugar and water down to 1 ½ cups each, kept the plums at 1 lb. Very good but still very sweet, I would reduce the sugar more if I make it again.
Yum! Outstanding with the local plums NY offers in late July (I think ours were Geneva Mirabelle?). The plums I used were VERY small and tart/sweet combo. One pound was made up of 16 of them which was about 2 1/2 cups in volume. Can’t say enough how delicious the flavor was!
This is one of those READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH first recipes. It was my first time using an ice cream machine and my first time making sorbet. I thought the maker was supposed to be miraculous so it didn’t occur to me I might have to start the day ahead of time (I thought I was doing well to have the bowls frozen). The ensuing ‘slushie’ was entirely my fault, and it had set up really nice by the next day (the leftovers). However, the flavor was OUTSTANDING. I skipped the vodka and it still had a stellar texture (the next day). In terms of speeding up the process, I was able to chill the blender mixture much quicker using a ice/salt bath and when 20 min. in the first frozen bowl didn’t produce sorbet texture, the second round did. For me, it was after that where I really *needed* more time (I had 2 1/2 hours). Overnight worked wonders for the leftovers.
I made this sorbet last weekend and it was beyond amazing and really easy to make! My mind is now spinning with glee to use other fruits and spirits! I was wondering if I could substitute peaches or nectarines and add Bourbon? Would cooking the peaches bring out the color as in the plums?
Maybe Mango & Rum??
I love sorbet and cherries – only thing is the humungous amount of sugar in it puts me off… think I’ll still make it though, it does look sublime!
Made this according to the recipe, and wish I hadn’t. The amount of sugar was beyond excessive, and I’m disappointed that despite my gut feeling I didn’t cut it. It’s now so sweet that, despite my sweet tooth, I can’t eat it. Frustrating waste of ingredients :(
This looks so so pretty! Do you think peaches are similar enough to plums in terms of water content and texture that I could just swap them in? Thanks!
I love this sorbet recipe and I have featured it in my Ice Cream special on my blog, I hope thats fine ;)
love, rebecca
Loving the sorbet, Joy, as much as I loved your giggleworthy ponytail anecdote. The color in this sorbet is stellar and I love how simple it is. Now, if only plums grew here in Costa Rica. Pinning!
This is so beautiful! Must be delicious :) I love homemade ice creams and sorbets.
love your introduction and the sorbet sounds & looks great, too!
You certainly hit the nail on the head with topping this with the salted pistachios or dark chocolate!
Plum sorbet sounds so good. Beautiful photos and I love the addition of pistachios.
Oh my that color is simply gorgeous!
Looks and sounds incredible!
Wonderful
That color is stunning and I love the pistachio topping!
This plum sorbet recipe looks delectable! I also really like the idea of topping this perfect summer dessert with pistachios. Yum!
-Helen
https://www.sweethelengrace.com
This looks absolutely gorgeous and oh so delicious! Summertime is here!
Splendid! Can’t wait to make this one with the kids.
I love that you always try different things, give the other fruits a chance to shine too! Never heard of plum sorbet, but I am sure it is utterly delicious. Can’t wait to make it this summer!
These pictures are beautiful (even if your hair isn’t:P Interesting segue, btw:)). I’m going to try it, thanks for the recipe!
Love the vibrant colour of the sorbet!
TOO gorgeous! I’m in love!
As a kid, with a mop of wild red curls, I so yearned for the long, sleek, shiny black tresses of a Polynesian maiden! Until today, one’s ever offered me sorbet to make up for my loss – thank you!
I love the line, “literal chilling…not just relaxing.” That’s a good line for summer. Oh, and the recipe looks delicious, especially with vodka and salted pistachios. Thanks!
I always wanted ponytail hair too, instead I chopped it all off into a pixie cut. ;)
This looks absolutely gorgeous! I love your writing, too. I’ve never thought about using ponytails like an extension of a hand gesture, but it’s so true. I totally want to try plum sorbet now! Thanks for the recipe!
xx Sydney
I’d rather have a bowl of this sorbet than ponytail hair (it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, trust me). This looks gorgeous I absolutely love the colors and the flavor combo!
I’m going to make this asap! Looks refreshing and delicious. Thanks for sharing!
This looks so yummy! I haven’t used plums this season yet but this looks easy and delicious!
Casey
https://thedistrictfox.com
I don’t have an ice cream machine but I really want to make this! I’m hoping it will turn out well if I blend it, freeze it in cubes, and then re-blend it.
I have the ponytail hair, but alas not the ponytail face. lol. Sorbet looks amazing!
This sounds wonderful! I love plums but I often just eat them as they are — this sounds like a fantastic new application!
Looks great and perfect for summer. I don’t think I’ve ever tried plum sorbet before but looks so delicious!
The Runaway Journal
Beautiful photos and great recipe. Yes, what a beautiful life it is …summer is good for reminding us of that.
Love summer fruit. It totally does show off especially in these pics, it looks delicious! I’ve never had good ponytail hair either haha!
This looks wonderful! I love your style whether you have ponytail hair or not, you are too cute!
My boys love plums so this should be a real hit.
What a delicious way to use plums, Joy! I can’t think of a more refreshing summer treat!
Love the color contrast of the sorbet and pistachios. Extra great photos in this post too!
looks amazing!! can’t wait to try it at home :)
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/