These recipes from Michael Salmon of Camden’s Hartstone Inn are sure to cool you off deliciously this summer! Of sorbet making, Michael has this to say:

“We serve a fruit sorbet at the Inn as a cleansing course before the entrée. Any fruit can be used for sorbet, you just need to consider the type of flesh or juice a fruit produces, and match it to one of these recipes. I use a simple electric ice cream machine that spins an insulated freezer bowl. You plug it in, pull the frozen freezer bowl out of your freezer and place it on the machine, place the lid on top turn it on and pour in the ingredients. In about 20 minutes you have sorbet. Transfer the sorbet to a plastic container with a lid and let it freeze for at least 2 hours to set up firm. ”

Hartstone Sorbet
Simple Syrup:
4 cups water
4 cups granulated sugar

Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan, giving it a gentle stir every 30 seconds. Once the boil is reached, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.  Use the simple syrup in the recipes below to prepare many different flavors of sorbet.

lemon sorbet image courtesy of foodnetwork.com

Lemon Sorbet
1 cup lemon juice
1 Tablespoon minced lemon zest
2 cups simple syrup (recipe above)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours to cool. Prepare your ice cream maker for freezing, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for making sorbet/ice cream.

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Berry Sorbet
¼ cup lemon juice
1 pound fresh or frozen berries (for strawberries, remove stems and cut into ½ inch pieces)
¼ cup light corn syrup
2 cups simple syrup (recipe above)

Place the lemon juice and berries in a food processor or blender, and purée until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Strain the berry mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Combine the strained berry juice with the remaining ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours to cool. Prepare your ice cream maker for freezing, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for making sorbet/ice cream.

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Peach, Mango, or Papaya Sorbet
¼ cup lemon juice
1 pound fresh or frozen peaches, mangoes, or papayas (remove skins, seeds, and pits)
¼ cup light corn syrup
2 cups simple syrup (recipe above)

Place the lemon juice and fruit in a food processor or blender and purée until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Combine the fruit purée and the remaining ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours to cool. Prepare your ice cream maker for freezing, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for making sorbet/ice cream.

Michael Salmon is the chef and owner of The Hartstone Inn.