Stone fruit season is here and our plum tree is heavy with warm fruit that fit snug into my hand; their little bodies are still partly coated with a milky covering that protects them and also makes them look adorably sleepy, like they’re slowly coming out of slumber.
The wax covering fades and their brilliant color blooms in this easy summer sorbet. Fruity & refreshing with a hint of anise and just the right balance of tangy delicious sweetness that one associates with plum. Heaven.
Sorbet is a frozen dessert typically made from a combination of fruit, water and sugar. Playing with these combinations to create different tastes & textures is where the magic is. As you’ll see from the photos, the sorbet can be soft & luscious or more classically firm with tiny crystalized ice ~ time and temperature will help create these variations.
Here’s What You’ll Need:
- Fresh Plums! (ripe/ ideally organic)
- Maple Syrup or sweetener of choice
- Boiled water + Star Anise (optional but encouraged :)
- A processor/blender suitable for frozen fruit
- Freezer storage
The Method:
This sorbet does not require pre-cooking the fruit nor churning it in an ice cream maker (yay!), instead, we’re going to chop and freeze the fruit (plan for 3ish hours or overnight) and then use a processor/blender to texturize. Easy, breezy and fun!
To Peel or Not to Peel ….
- keep the skin! Good fruit is the foundation of quality sorbet, I recommend using ripe and, if possible, organic plums in this recipe. The skin of the plum is thin, fully edible and contains much of the flavor & color of the fruit — once processed, the remaining bits of skin are small and don’t interfere with the palatability of the sorbet — besides, the speckles are kinda cute. The skin of the plum is also an important source of antioxidants. Plums have a high phenolic content — mostly in the form of anthocyanins, naturally occurring antioxidant compounds, that give plums their gorgeous deep colored hue. Studies suggest that plums may be richer in these protective compounds than other stone fruit. A scientific review summarizing the impressive health benefits of plums can be found here.
- remove the skin: if you prefer to remove the skin, I recommend doing a quick blanching — score the bottom of each plum (make a little x in the skin with a knife) and then carefully pop the plums into a pot of boiling water for 1 minute (not longer otherwise you’re plums will be mushy which can impact the final texture) and then transfer them into some ice water — the skin of the plums should fall away easily when pulled on.
The Texture:
The texture of the sorbet really turns on how much time it spends in the freezer (and the temperature of your freezer). The directions in the recipe card will take you through what to expect and how to adjust for a softer or firmer texture depending on your preferences.
Keep in mind that this sorbet does not contain cream (dairy) or alcohol so if left in the freezer for extended periods of time, it will freeze hard but it’s also easy to thaw in the fridge or on the counter at room temp, so all is possible.
Having a freezer friendly container with lid to store any leftover sorbet or to return the sorbet for solidifying after blending is helpful. If you have a silicone freezer container (or muffin cups) with individual compartments, it’s ideal because you can pop out the portion you want to thaw and leave the rest in the freezer (it’s like a flexible food-grade rubber); really useful btw for freezing smoothies, soups, sauces and stews, etc. I have this one [📷 Aichoof):
I hope you have fun experimenting with this sorbet and that it adds some yumminess to your summer ✨ let me know how it goes and if you discover new combinations you enjoy!
- ~ 2 pounds (907g) fresh plums, ideally organic (no need to peel! simply wash the skin, slice the plums and leave the pits behind, you should be left with 2 pounds after pits are removed-- generally the riper the fruit, the sweeter)
- ~ ¼ - ½ cup (60-120 mL) pure maple syrup (depending on sweetness of plums & personal preference) you could also use honey or any granulated sugar of preference
- ~ ½ cup or more (120 mL) boiled water + 2 star anise
- Place your fresh plum slices in a sealed container or freezer bag and freeze for 3+ hours (or overnight) until frozen but be careful that it doesn't freeze solid into a slab that you can't break to fit into your blender - if you have the freezer space, spreading the fruit out to allow it to freeze in separate pieces is ideal;
- When you're ready to make the sorbet, prepare anise water -- add 2 star anise to the boiled water and allow it to steep as you process the frozen plums -- if you prefer you can skip the anise flavor and simply use the warm water instead;
- Transfer frozen plum slices to a food processor/blender and blend until smooth - depending on your equipment, you may need to work in batches while adding some of the warm anise water (minus the actual anise pods) *slowly and gradually* as you go along to loosen and get to a smooth texture you may not need a lot of the water or you may end up using it all while working in batches;
- Add the maple syrup to taste preference;
- Your plum sorbet is now ready to enjoy! Depending on how much water and the type of sugar you've added (liquid/solid) your sorbet may be relatively soft at this stage -- If you prefer a harder texture, simply place the sorbet back in the freezer (use any appropriate freezer container for this, see post for ideas) until desired texture is achieved (check in on it);
- To thaw frozen sorbet, simply leave the sorbet out at room temperature (typically only takes 15 minutes or so to be scoop-able) or in the fridge (will take a little longer than room temp).
- Alternatively, if you're using individual compartment freezer trays (pictured in post), pop out applicable portion and blend/process from frozen to consistency! This works really well.
This is beautiful. A fresh summer dessert that is light and full of flavor.
Thanks for sharing this with us.
Velva
good morning Velva, so happy to hear this recipe appeals, it really packs a flavour punch, i hope you enjoy, thanks for dropping by.
Spectacular! I love the colour! I have some frozen plums in the freezer from last summer just begging to be made into this luscious dessert. If you want a super smooth sorbet, add milk powder to the mix; milk powder absorbs water so your sorbet will become super creamy.
oh interesting, how much milk powder would you add Eva? i kinda like the sorbet texture but it would be fun to do the experiment.. wonder how the milk might impact flavour; my favourite part is how the tangy plum essence comes through.
I’ve read anything from a tablespoon to a 1/4 cup, so I’ve been experimenting too. I just made David Lebowitz’s chocolate sorbet and I added just less than a 1/4 cup but I did not like it at all – was too gritty although it did not impart any flavours because of the incredible amount of Belgian dark chocolate. The one that really stood out for me was the Orange Gelato I made in 2018, I did about 30 g to 700 mL liquid and it was incredible.
What an absolutely gorgeous color! What type of plums do you have? I used to have a Damson plum tree that would have made a gorgeous purple sorbet. I’m now very sorry that I didn’t have this recipe back then. Such a simple recipe Kelly and love that you always choose the healthy sweetener, like maple syrup. I’m going to have to find some plums. I’m craving this sorbet!
Why do people discard the peel? I see people peel apples and potatoes and I just don’t get it. It’s like throwing the healthy part away. So thank you for bringing the importance of the peel. I think part of the problem is that some people just don’t know how healthy the peel is.
oh yeah, the damson would be gorgeous! (dark blues right?) we have a satsuma plum — tends towards deep red/purple hues that give it that colour (when you use the peel, haha) — and we also scored big time on wild plums from our neighbour’s tree that hangs over our fence and drops right into our yard :) have you had wild plums before? they look like cherries (little things) but taste like plums; they come out earlier in the season, there were tons this year (should have made a pie! i did make peach pie tho :d … do you still have a peach tree MJ?)
Looks amazing! what color!!!!! I could not resist and ordered that flexible container, as the husband makes sorbet quite often and it’s a bit of a pain to serve it sometimes
I will be on the look out for plums, not sure we can get them as wonderful as you do in CA, but I really want to make this sorbet
oh good call Sally, it’s a worthwhile investment; use mine all the time for a variety of things…. you can make this sorbet with any stone fruit but the plum has a really unique tangy flavor — top shelf! must try :)
yes!!!!! I read the reviews on amazon and people go nuts for that thing – I will use it for several concoctions, I am sure – the fact that they are flexible is special…
will let you know once I make some sorbet