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!
PrintSweet 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
Guntaas
Can i make this without churning the mixture? I don’t have an ice cream machine
joythebaker
I’m not sure!
Richard Hauber
Great recipe! I used Santa Rosa plums. Instead of vodka, I used slivovice (home made plum liquor). Thanks!
Glenda
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.
Tessah
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.
Suzie Bender
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??
Mike
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!
Jessie
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 :(
Anabel
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!
Rebecca (@IcingSugarBlog)
I love this sorbet recipe and I have featured it in my Ice Cream special on my blog, I hope thats fine ;)
love, rebecca
Jelli
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!
Unical
This is so beautiful! Must be delicious :) I love homemade ice creams and sorbets.
Schnauzevoll
love your introduction and the sorbet sounds & looks great, too!
Ryan @ Feed by Round Pond
You certainly hit the nail on the head with topping this with the salted pistachios or dark chocolate!