EaSy PeAsY SoRbEt

I got my May issue of the BBC Good Food magazine recently after a long wait as I missed the first batch of issues that usually come in just before the May. Thumbing through my copy, I was so excited to read this tip from Paul Merrett on how to make the easiest peach sorbet ever. I call sorbet a poncy (British slang for fancy) dessert as I remember eating my first sorbet in Lafite, the posh French restaurant in Shangri-La Hotel when I was a teenager. Being a total green horn, I thought having dessert halfway through the meal was so much fun even though I was told that it cleared your palate. At that age, who cared about palate! Nowadays I am more into sorbet since it is devoid of cream and is less fattening than ice-cream.

It looked so easy that I went to the supermarket to search for canned peaches in juice. Not an easy task as it seems that most supermarkets only have canned peaches in syrup. So far, I only found two places, one is in Ampang Grocers that usually has funny stuff in stock as they cater for the expatriate crowd in Ampang and Tescos which brings in their own canned goods that includes canned fruits in juice.

Peach sorbet
1 can of peaches in juice

Open can and pour contents into a plastic container (any old ice-cream container will do) and put it into your freezer overnight. Take out the container few minutes before you want to serve the sorbet. Since our weather is so hot, it is advisable that you put your serving bowl in the freezer for a short while. This helps to prevent melting when you scoop your sorbet into it. Cut the frozen peaches and juice in small chunks and blend them. Place them back in the plastic container and press down to make it even. Use an ice-cream scoop to scoop it into balls and serve on your frosted bowls. Note that the peaches in juice is not so sweet so you may find it slightly tart.

I thoroughly enjoyed my sorbet and I reckon I may try to make some more as Tescos has quite a wide variety of other canned fruits in juices. If you can't get canned fruits in juices, I guess you can replace the same quantity of syrup with fruit juice. Just make sure your fruit juice is not the thick concentrate type.

Incidentally Paul Merrett is currently hosting a new BBC food show called Ever Wondered About Food. The show looks fascinating with them examining the science of food, the history and the way we cook. How I wish we could watch it but I doubt BBC Worldwide will be showing it as it seems to be more catered for the British audience.