Plum Sorbet Recipes

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring 8 cups water to a boil. Add plums; cover and boil for 30-45 seconds. Drain and immediately place plums in ice water. Drain and pat dry. When cool enough to handle, remove skins. Cut in half; remove pits., In a small saucepan, bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add lemon juice and zest; set aside to cool., Place the plums in a food processor; add sugar syrup. Cover and process until smooth, 2-3 minutes. Transfer puree to an 8-in.- square dish. Freeze until edges begin to firm, about 1 hour; stir. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours longer., Just before serving, transfer to a food processor; cover and process until smooth, 2-3 minutes.

Steps:

• Dissolve the sugar in 1/2 cup water over medium heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and add the thyme sprigs, pressing them under the surface of the syrup. Allow them to steep for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, peel and pit the plums, chopping them coarsely as you do. Combine the plums, about 1/3 of the skin, the ascorbic acid and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth.
• Remove the thyme sprigs from the syrup and stir in the honey until dissolved. Pour 1/2 cup of the honey-thyme syrup into the plum mixture and process until blended. Taste the mixture; it should be sweet, but not intensely so. If plums were underripe, you might need to add a little more syrup. Pour mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before churning in an ice-cream maker. Set up to finish in the freezer.

Steps:

• Halve and pit plums and in a large saucepan cook with remaining ingredients over moderate heat, stirring, until plums release their liquid and mixture comes to a simmer. Simmer mixture, stirring, 5 minutes and cool slightly.
• In a blender purée mixture in 2 batches and pour through a fine sieve into a bowl. Chill mixture, covered, until cold, about 2 hours. Freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker. Transfer sorbet to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden. Sorbet keeps, covered and frozen, 1 week.

Steps:

• Wash the plums, cut them in half and remove the pits. Cut the plums in quarters and cook them over low to medium heat with the orange juice for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Puree the plums in a blender or food processor and chill.
• Meanwhile, bring the sugar and water to a boil and simmer for five minutes. Add the syrup to the puree, along with about one tablespoon kirsch, and mix well. Cool and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions for your ice cream maker.

Steps:

• Combine the red wine, clove, peppercorns, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain into a bowl. Allow to cool. Blend the plums with the honey, corn syrup and wine syrup in a blender until smooth. Chill for 2 hours or overnight.
• If you are making granita, place a 9-by-11-inch baking dish in the freezer. You may omit the corn syrup and reduce the sugar if desired.
• Using an immersion blender, blend the plum mixture for 30 seconds. If making sorbet, freeze in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer's directions. If making granita, scrape into the chilled baking dish and place back in the freezer. Set the timer for 30 minutes. Using a fork, scrape the ice crystals from the outside of the baking dish toward the center. Return to the freezer and set the timer for another 30 minutes. Continue to scrape the mixture with a fork every 30 minutes until you have a uniform frozen mixture. It should not be frozen solid. If you forget to scrape and the mixture does freeze like an ice cube, cut into chunks and use a food processor fitted with the steel blade to break it up. Transfer to a container and freeze. Allow to soften for 15 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.

Steps:

• Stir together all ingredients and a pinch of salt in a heavy medium saucepan and cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until plums fall apart, about 25 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick and zest. Purée in batches in a blender until very smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Force purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids. Cool, uncovered, then chill, covered, until cold, at least 2 hours.
• Freeze purée in ice cream maker, then transfer sorbet to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 1 hour.

Steps:

• Cut plums in half and remove pits. Cut halves into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Combine plums, 3/4 cup water, the sugar, and the salt in a 5-quart nonreactive saucepan. Cook over medium heat until plums break down, about30 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent plums from scorching.
• Remove from heat and cool slightly. Puree mixture in a food processor and strain into a medium bowl set over an ice bath to chill. Stir in cognac and vinegar.
• Freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.