Recipe Test: Key Lime Sherbet
Now I just gotta get my hands on some key limes...
As I made clear in my previous post, my daughter has a mango allergy, which is what prompted a second effort this week. I offered to make her a Strawberry recipe from Shelly Kaldunski’s The Ice Creamery Cookbook, but she instead chose the Key Lime Sherbet recipe from the very same book. Which brings us to the matter at hand…
Has anyone ever seen a key lime before in real life? I mean, I searched several different grocery stores in the East Bay (including Berkeley Bowl, which is renown for stocking hard-to-find produce) and I couldn’t find ‘em anywhere. Maybe it’s that I’m just not paying attention three-quarters of the time, but I’ve never actually seen one for sale in a grocery store.1 Ever. I’m starting to think they might be like those mythical creatures that people talk about, but don’t really exist. Like Bigfoot. Or moderate Republicans in Congress.
But they must exist! How else would the Cheesecake Factory—or hundreds of restaurants in Florida—keep cranking out all those key lime pies? Maybe they’re only sold regionally—just don’t ask me which region. Or perhaps it’s one of those situations where the fancy pants restaurants buy up all the good produce before average Joe Schmoes like me gets a crack at the market. I don’t know. The point is that since I couldn’t find key limes, I had to use Persian limes, which are also known to the rest of us as…well, “limes”.
Now I know all of you are wondering what that sour cream is doing up there. But don’t you worry! I will explain all in due course.
To begin, the recipe calls for a 1/2 cup of lime juice from 12 key limes. Friends: I didn’t realize key limes are less than half the size of regular limes. So I did not need anywhere close to 12 limes. I was able to get the required 1/2 cup of lime juice out of just 4 limes, which I then zested. Now I have 8 extra limes on my hands. But maybe there’s a silver lining here; it sounds like key limes are overrated.
Anyway, once you’ve zested and juiced the limes, you can assemble the mixture.
In terms of that sour cream: I’ve used this as an ingredient when making sherbets in the past, particularly ones with citrus. It’s not as uncommon as you might think. As far as the why, my best guess is that it helps emphasize the tanginess of the citrus and not let the sour notes become overwhelmed by the sugar. But that’s just a guess!
Kaldunski notes that because key limes are sweeter than “limes,” you should add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the lime juice to offset the added sourness. Instead of doing that, I added 2 tablespoons of my new favorite ingredient.
And with that, the mixture is done. I stuck it in the fridge for a few hours before churning.
This sherbet is tasty! The tanginess of the lime is nicely balanced against the sweet creaminess of the milk and sugar. My daughter gave it a big thumbs up.
One thing, however, that would have improved the taste is some sort of graham cracker crust mix-in or topping. And maybe some toasted coconut as well. I was thinking about graham cracker crust while churning this, but I seem to have a real mental block when it comes to making mix-ins. They just feel like a complete pain in the ass. It’s like, I’m already making ice cream. Now I gotta make a mix-in too? F that! But, I think next time, making some kind of graham cracker coconut cluster type mix-in would be advisable.
The texture was also good. It scooped fairly easily after hardening overnight. I would say that I think the mouthfeel2 texture was correct: it’s creamy but also a bit icy like a sorbet given the 1/2 cup of lime juice and simple syrup. Part of me was wondering if it should be smoother, but ultimately, I decided no, this is exactly what sherbet texture is supposed to feel like.3 All in all, a very good recipe that I would recommend, especially if you add a mix-in.
And that about wraps it up for this week. I was scheduled to make Black Sesame Ice Cream next week, but the idea of that flavor is not making my heart leap with joy. So it’ll be something as yet to be determined.
Until then, enjoy some ice cream!
In all fairness, I should have tried Monterrey Market.
I tried mightily to never use that word on this blog, but I was unable to hold out any longer.
My sherbet reference point is Baskin & Robbins Orange Sherbet—which it looks like they no longer produce? What the hell?—and I haven’t had that in a long time.