Mangonada Sorbet
Reader request, vol. 7
I suppose I should start by saying that I don’t care too much for flavors that combine sweet with spicy. I mean, I obviously enjoy foods that are sweet. And I also very much like foods that are spicy. But when you combine those two profiles into a single dish, it’s generally not my cup of tea.1
Because of this, it’s almost certain that I never would have proactively chosen to make an ice cream flavor that combined any kind of spicy flavoring. Yet that’s one of the many reasons I’m appreciating all of these reader request flavors that I’ve been making over these past few months—they’re pushing me outside of my comfort zone!
This week’s request—mangonada—comes courtesy of one of my son’s friends. It is both a quintessential Mexican flavor and a quintessential sweet and spicy flavor profile: mango slush or sorbet + chamoy sauce. I should also acknowledge that I did not approach the central ingredient of this recipe—mangoes—with any measure of cultural fidelity, as evidenced by this photo:
Had I wanted this to be authentic, I would have gotten my lazy ass off the couch and purchased some Mexican mangoes from Berkeley Bowl or Safeway (or wherever) and pureed them myself. Instead, I got that tasty, pre-made puree from Viks one day when I was in the area. Thankfully, the other key ingredient for this recipe—the chamoy sauce—has the proper cultural pedigree:
Of course I’m being facetious here. Nevertheless, it is true that the flavor of mango varies from region to region. So you can think of this recipe like an Indian version of mangonada!
By the way, here are the ingredients I used:
I blended up all of that that plus 1 cup of water and a bit of guar gum (1/4 tsp). Since the mango puree was already sweetened, I only added 1/4 cup of the corn syrup, just to make sure it had enough sweetness and sugar content to freeze properly. But that was a gut move, not a scientifically based decision, so don’t take it as any kind of definitive statement on how to approach making this.
There was some immersion blending as well as a churn in the machine, but I captured none of that in either photos or video. Yet I must say, the final product inside a used Talenti container2 looks pretty great!
And here it is scooped and ready to be eaten!
The family I shared this with told me they loved it—they had nothing but positive feedback. As for me, I have to admit that I too enjoyed it. The level of chamoy seemed just right. I could clearly taste it and it definitely added a level of spiciness, but not too much. I’m not sure if your standard mangonada includes more chamoy—it might—but I think this version has the exact right amount for my tastes. And the mango flavor didn’t feel particularly Indian; it just tasted like delicious mango. So to sum up, I’d definitely make this again, with or without the chamoy.
That’s all for this week. Stay tuned for an update about the TOIC. I hope you had a nice long weekend, and Happy MLK Jr. Day!
For example, I don’t care much for Mexican hot chocolate as a flavor, yet I find Tajin sprinkled on fruit to be tasty.
If you ever decide to make ice cream at home, I highly recommend using old Talenti containers for storing the final product. The containers themselves are durable and dishwasher-able—not to mention that they look snazzy.
Really nice execution on the chamoy balance. I've tried making similar combos before and always overdo the heat level, but keeping it subtle like this lets the mango shine while still getting that complexity. The guar gum addition is smart for texture control, especially with the syrup adjustment to account for the pre-sweetened puree.