MaNgOsTeeN SoRbEt

The weather is super hot in Malaysia recently as we have not seen a drop of rain these past few days. As usual, when the heat strikes, I am always thinking of ways to cool off and I thought of making another sorbet. I was inspired by the mangosteen which is in season this month and has started flooding the fruit stalls in Kuala Lumpur. However, I notice that this year, the ones available are super tiny. Not sure why but my uncle offered a theory to say that nowadays the local farmers are cultivating nice fat and juicy ones for the export market like Japan as they earn more profits. The other downer about buying mangosteens are they are not a cheap fruit. You will think it's cheap since it is local but nope, it is selling for about RM4.99 per kilogram in Kuala Lumpur.

I bought a few mangosteen to make this sorbet that I saw in Vogue Entertaining's Short Order and Seasonal Cookbook (Autumn/Winter) since it looked so lusciously cooling and inviting. Not a cheap venture as once you deseed mangosteens, you don't get much pulp left. However, once you mix your sorbet up and when it is ready to scoop, it is so nice and cooling plus it is a great light purplish pink colour. As I don't have an ice-cream maker (am still contemplating whether to get one from my Citibank Reward Points), I just agak-agak (Malay for estimate) and throw everything in the blender to whiz to smoothen it out. Although the original recipe stated limes, I used the small calamansi limes that give a more orangish juice. Originally I thought of replacing the liquid glucose in the recipe with a sugar syrup but I managed to find some in a bake shop.

I guess the next time round if I can get my hands on some nice mangosteen and cheaper ones, I will try to make the mangosteen and prawn salad from Sao Nam Restaurant that serves yummy South Vietnamese cuisine.

Mangosteen Sorbet

500g mangosteen flesh, deseeded and shells reserved for decoration
juice of 1 lime (or to taste) - I used calamansi limes
100g caster sugar (or to taste)

100ml liquid glucose
8-10 mangosteen shells with lids, rinsed and dried

In a blender, puree the mangosteen flesh with the lime juice and the sugar till smooth. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the glucose and pour it into the blender with the mangosteen mixture. Blend together. Taste the mixture and if it is not sweet, add extra sugar and if too sweet, add more lime juice. If you have an ice-cream maker, process it as per the equipment's instructions or if you don't have one, just put it in a plastic container to the freezer and blend it again about 4 hours later. Leave it in the container till the next day and then scoop out into the mangosteen shells to serve.

Updated (21/7/05) : Recently came across a recipe for the sorbet and the chef served it with blueberry compote. Sounds like an interesting combination to try.