Tangerine Sorbet
There are a lot of desserts in my repertoire, but the one that I always have room for – and crave – is Tangerine Sorbet. Come winter, when the markets are loaded up with citrus, Parisians rifle through the piles on the market stands and buy ’em by the kilo. (About 2 pounds.) I do too, never failing to come home with a sack bulging with the orange beauties. In fact, I’ve been toting my wheeled shopping cart along, rather than a shopping basket, during the last few weeks to bring as many of them home as possible.
Unlike apples and pears, tangerines and other citrus aren’t usually sold by their varieties in France, like they are back in California. They’re sold by provenance: clementines from Corsica, oranges from Malta, lemons from Menton or Sicily, and pink grapefruits via Florida. So you don’t see Pixie, Fairchild, Dancy or Satsuma tangerines labeled as such.
Minneola tangelos aren’t all that common to come across. So when I saw them, which were labeled as such, I filled a bag with them. The vendor proudly told me they were a cross between a tangerine and grapefruit, to which I replied, “Yes, I know…and I love them!”
Then I added “Come to papa…” which he didn’t quite understand, and filled a second bag full of them.
I don’t just love them because of their abundant juices or their protruding nipples. But also because the juice of Minneola Tangelos is sweet yet tangy, and that contrast makes an exceptionally refreshing sorbet. Yet any tangerine (or mandarin) will do for this vibrant sorbet.
I’m still patiently waiting for composting to come to Paris and dislike throwing away bagfuls of food scraps. Faced with a cutting board-full of tangerine halves, I candied the leftover peels (using the recipe in Ready for Dessert), which was nice to serve alongside the sorbet.
I’ve got this on board to serve for dessert tonight along with a big container of candied tangerine peel, which I’ve been snacking on even since it came out of the candying syrup. Due to my unrestrained snacking tendencies, I’ve made a serious dent in my supply, but reserved enough to share with guests this evening. As for the sorbet, I made two containers of it, although I’m heading back to the market this morning to restock my supply of tangerines.
| Tangerine Sorbet | Print Recipe |
| About 1 quart (1L) |
Related Posts and Recipes
How to Make Ice Cream Without a Machine
What’s the Difference Between Tangerines, Clementines, and Mandarins? (Fooducate)
Mandarines and their hybrids (University of California)
Tips for Making Homemade Ice Cream Softer
I bought a 3 lb bag of tangerines 1.5 weeks ago, and they’re so good that they’re almost gone (not even sure how many I’ve been having per day). will have to try this sorbet for my next batch of them (I believe in diversifying my consumption habits, especially when there’s sorbet involved)!
Ooh there’s a large domestic composter called Clo-ey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MdYSNU-yGg
you never know – you might be able to get one shipped to you!
Thanks for including the link for people, like me, who do not have an ice cream maker. Love your idea of making the candied peel, my favorite. I could snack on that all day, dipped in dark chocolate is even better.
I love sorbet, mango is one of my favourite flavours. I’ll have to try tangerines though, all of the tips will come in very handy. When it comes to eating sorbet, I’m very skilled :-) but I’m a novice at making this.
I find that come winter, I’m not in much of a sorbet mood myself…. But if I were, the promise of usable scraps (those candied peels!) and your raving endorsement of the flavour would definitely win me over.
This recipe looks like a perfect way to finish your dinner. Light, sweet and refreshing :) Your idea with the candied peel is a very very good one as well. Yum! And makes an amazing decoration as well:) I just like to drizzle it on top of a chocolate orange cake. I will be trying this but without an ice cream maker.
Thank you for the recipe! :)
xxx
I always wonder what temperature other people’s kitchens are when I see in ice-cream recipes to take it out of the freezer 5mins before you need it for it to come to room temp. Mine usually takes about 20mins. at least before I can get the scoop in it!
This looks positively divine, and as luck would have it I just bought Minneolas! (I love them too.) Thanks for the recipe.
Gorgeous looking sorbet; love winter citrus. I’m gorging on sweet California oranges this week…saving some for gelato.
Looks fab. Now, how do you make the candied peel? Thank you!
The rinds are cooked in water until tender, then the white pith is removed with a paring knife, then the peel is sliced into strips. The strips are cooked in a sugar syrup until about 225ºF, drained and tossed in sugar. (The exact recipe and proportions are in my book Ready for Dessert, but that’s the general method if you want to try them yourself.)
Or you can purchase them from Market Hall Foods out of Oakland. I have always been very satisfied with their products.
I do not have an ice cream maker (as it would be dangerous), so when I make sorbet, I pour it into a pan so it is maybe 2 inches (5 cm) thick, cut it into cubes, and then pulse the cubes in batches. I do the same with the fresh peach ice cream in Alice Mederich’s Sinfully Easy Desserts book. It can be served out of the food processor or be put back in the freezer to firm up if that is your preference.
I am making cassoulet from My Paris Kitchen for dinner tomorrow night. I think that this might be the perfect dessert.
What a brilliant idea to candy the peels and serve them with the sorbet. Citrus in any form is most welcome during these cold, dark days of February, and tangerine sorbet would be doubly welcomed.
I never thought I liked tangelos — too sour and not flavorful enough — and then I finally had some that were properly tree ripened and they were AMAZING. I don’t know why they’re never available fully ripe (I’m in California), because the difference is profound!
I’m impressed you can keep up with the different names of citrus in French, let alone how they’re marketed/labeled differently in Parisian markets. I’m always googling to check if a satsuma is a mandarin, etc. This sorbet looks wonderful! Nothing is better than a really refreshing sorbet.
Can you recommend a cookie (or similar) to go with?
These Coconut Macaroons (dipped in chocolate, or not) are terrific with this sorbet!
Lovely match. Made for a lovely finish to a progressive dinner. Merci beaucoup.
Tangelos are a very common winter fruit here in New Zealand, so I will look forward to making this in August. I wish they were in season right now, although if they were I might be tempted to flollop around in a bath of sorbet to combat the heat, and that would be a waste.
We (NZ) should be getting the Minneola Tangelos from the USA about now…. My local Countdown has some at the moment…. New World has some other sort of Tangelo (NZ grown) but I find the Minneola from the USA to be far superior in taste. The Minneola really do make a fantastic sorbet, it’s one of my absolute favourites!
Such a shame that the mandarines here are already dry inside :(
Yes, please!
David- thank you for this post. I found the Minneola tangerines at my local market here in the Marina District of SF. Their taste and juiciness are terrific. This evening I am bringing the sorbet with financiers to a dinner party. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Found these tangerines at our organic market in Baltimore and made the sorbet for our Valentine’s dinner. It was the perfect pairing with the “steak frites au beurre de moutarde” from My Paris Kitchen. Best Valentine’s dinner ever!! Merci
Do you know how freezing then putting in food processor and refreezing compares to freezing in an ice cream maker?
I made this last night for a Grammy’s Party. It was absolutely delicious. I used my tree ripened tangerines, 1/2 c sugar 2 t of grand marnier. I did not heat it and my sugar dissolved just fine. Very fresh flavor. Delicious.
Is this the same recipe that is with your
delicious orange cake a la Ottolenghi, where you cook the orange slices separately? Logan
Those are soft-candied whole slices of oranges, whereas the candied peels are just the peels. Those candied oranges would be good with this sorbet though, too!
This was the first sorbet my husband made after I gave him an ice cream maker (ICE 21) and your book for his Xmas birthday several years ago. It was heavenly and remains my favorite to this day. One word of warning, though: hubs made some a couple of weeks ago with a bag of minneolas that I picked up. Neither of us tasted the fruit before he juiced it for the sorbet and we should have. The end result was strangely woody tasting. Lessons learned!
This was delicious. First time using my new ice cream maker. Didn’t buy organic fruit, so I was scared to make the peel. I’ve apparently been poisoning my closest family and friends according to “the Internet”.
This would’ve been perfect for the Lunar New Year that just passed! What a nice twist to an oriental fruit.
I made some of this a while ago, using the perfect scoop recipe, after skinning a bunch of mandarins for mandarin-cello.
It was the best ice cream I’ve ever had (probably helped that the mandarins were amazing too).
David, this is going straight to the top of my must-make list!
I love this simple desert idea. I want to try putting the sorbet back in the orange peal then serve it like that. Fancy fancy!!!
haha!
Great recipe!!
Jullian
thank you for the tangerine sorbet recipe. Just got an ice cream machine so for my first try I made it and it was delicious.