Fresh from the garden... Rhubarb Sherbet
Rhubarb sherbet is an old-fashioned refreshing summer drink from an era before industrialized soft drinks.
"Sherbet" in this case takes its older English meaning of a sweet fruit drink, not a frozen dessert. (For the word nerds: Arabic "sarba," a drink -> Persian "sarbat," a sweet fruit drink -> Ottoman Turkish "serbet" -> English "sherbet" some time in the 15th or 16th Century.) Though the tie-in to frozen desserts is also ancient -- in the heat of summer, Middle Eastern elites woud enjoy their sherbet poured over snow brought down from the mountains.
Etymologically, "sherbet" has the same roots as "syrup," "sorbet," and "shrub," just Englished in different eras through different intermediate tongues.
On to the drink itself: This is a very simple drink that was popular where rhubarb grows like a weed. The intensity of the rhubarb flavor can be varied by dilution, and the sweetening can be varied to taste.
Start with clean stalks of rhubarb. Red rhubarb will give a pinkish sherbet; green rhubarb will give a more yellowish color. If you're making several batches, you might want to blend them for consistency.
Chop the rhubarb small enough to boil well -- half-inch to an inch if you're cutting by hand, or a thick slicing disk in your food processor.
Put 3 cups of chopped rhubarb in a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil for ten minutes.
While it's boiling, thinly slice half of a lemon peel and put it in a 2-quart measuring cup, along with 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Put a conical strainer/chinois over the measuring cup, and strain the boiled rhubarb over the sugar and lemon peel. Discard the pulp. (Or eat it with a rich vanilla ice cream.)
Allow the sherbet to steep and settle for a few hours, or overnight, then decant for clarity. (There's nothing wrong with the cloudy dregs, just not attractive enough to serve for company -- enjoy them yourself while bottling.)
Serve chilled.
Notes and variations:
Overripe rhubarb that's gone too woody for sauces and pies still makes a good drink.
This recipe is not pasteurized, and unlike a shrub, sherbet doesn't have vinegar as a preservative, so you'll need to keep it cold and drink it reasonably soon or it may ferment. I suspect it's more than acidic enough for safe home canning, but I can't say I've canned any yet myself.
Larger batches are convenient in a pasta kettle where you can do the large-scale straining by lifting out the basket and leaving it cocked on the kettle to drain. Really large batches would probably be fastest with a screw-fed tomato strainer.
Don't limit your taste to lemon peel, the rhubarb also goes well with lime, ginger, cardamom, and of course any good botanical gin.
Fresh from the garden... Rhubarb Sherbet
Rhubarb sherbet is an old-fashioned refreshing summer drink from an era before industrialized soft drinks.
"Sherbet" in this case takes its older English meaning of a sweet fruit drink, not a frozen dessert. (For the word nerds: Arabic "sarba," a drink -> Persian "sarbat," a sweet fruit drink -> Ottoman Turkish "serbet" -> English "sherbet" some time in the 15th or 16th Century.) Though the tie-in to frozen desserts is also ancient -- in the heat of summer, Middle Eastern elites woud enjoy their sherbet poured over snow brought down from the mountains.
Etymologically, "sherbet" has the same roots as "syrup," "sorbet," and "shrub," just Englished in different eras through different intermediate tongues.
On to the drink itself: This is a very simple drink that was popular where rhubarb grows like a weed. The intensity of the rhubarb flavor can be varied by dilution, and the sweetening can be varied to taste.
Start with clean stalks of rhubarb. Red rhubarb will give a pinkish sherbet; green rhubarb will give a more yellowish color. If you're making several batches, you might want to blend them for consistency.
Chop the rhubarb small enough to boil well -- half-inch to an inch if you're cutting by hand, or a thick slicing disk in your food processor.
Put 3 cups of chopped rhubarb in a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil for ten minutes.
While it's boiling, thinly slice half of a lemon peel and put it in a 2-quart measuring cup, along with 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Put a conical strainer/chinois over the measuring cup, and strain the boiled rhubarb over the sugar and lemon peel. Discard the pulp. (Or eat it with a rich vanilla ice cream.)
Allow the sherbet to steep and settle for a few hours, or overnight, then decant for clarity. (There's nothing wrong with the cloudy dregs, just not attractive enough to serve for company -- enjoy them yourself while bottling.)
Serve chilled.
Notes and variations:
Overripe rhubarb that's gone too woody for sauces and pies still makes a good drink.
This recipe is not pasteurized, and unlike a shrub, sherbet doesn't have vinegar as a preservative, so you'll need to keep it cold and drink it reasonably soon or it may ferment. I suspect it's more than acidic enough for safe home canning, but I can't say I've canned any yet myself.
Larger batches are convenient in a pasta kettle where you can do the large-scale straining by lifting out the basket and leaving it cocked on the kettle to drain. Really large batches would probably be fastest with a screw-fed tomato strainer.
Don't limit your taste to lemon peel, the rhubarb also goes well with lime, ginger, cardamom, and of course any good botanical gin.