Culinary Experimentism

There is a reason the ice cream books say you should use premium ingredients, and it's not just about taste. It's about texture.

I attempted a lemon sorbet with Splenda instead. Taste--wonderful. Quite tart (my preference) and rich flavor. Texture--needs improvement.

The freezing process started off normal enough. It was starting to slush within the first 5 minutes, so I distracted myself for the remaining time by reading. When I checked on it after 25 minutes, it was, um, interesting.

This fluffy ice was bursting through the lid. The frozen ice was so soft and airy, that it wouldn't hold a shape with a spoon. I packed it into a container, but when we were ready to serve, it was hard like a granita that hadn't been forked. Softening a bit lent to spoonable, but it didn't hold the shape of the ice cream scoop, so it was like a bowl of frozen lemon ice slush.

So, taste was good, but texture is off. Clearly the chemistry of sugar does something to make it bindable during freezing.

I'm going to attempt again with the Splenda baking mix (half sugar, half Splenda) and see if there is an improvement. I'm also going to attempt with some added alcohol (probably vodka). I wonder if that would alter the viscosity of the sorbet?

Honestly, I will continue to make sorbets with the real sugar deal. There is no substitute for the real thing worth sacrificing when making for an event. However, I have friends who are South Beaching, plus I could stand to lose a few myself, so when I'm making it on my own, I'd like to have a less sugary blend.