Chapter 7 of 19

WATER ICES AND SHERBETS OR SORBETS

A water ice is a mixture of water, fruit and sugar, frozen without much stirring; in fact, a water ice can be made in an ordinary tin kettle packed in a bucket. If an ice cream freezer is used, the stirring should be done occasionally. Personally, I prefer to pack the can, put on the lid and fasten the hole with a cork rather than to use the dasher, stirring now and then with a paddle. If you use the crank, turn slowly for a few minutes, then allow the mixture to stand for five minutes; turn slowly again, and again rest, and continue this until the water ice is frozen. A much longer time is required for freezing water ice than ice cream.

When the mixture is thoroughly frozen, take out the dasher, scrape down the sides of the can, give the ice a thorough beating with a wooden spoon; put the cork in the lid of the can, draw the water from the tub, repack it with coarse ice and salt, cover it with paper and a piece of blanket or burlap, and stand aside for two or three hours to ripen just as you would ice cream.

When it is necessary to make water ice every day or two, it is best to make a syrup and stand it aside ready for use.

Fruit jellies may be used in the place of fresh fruits, allowing one pint of jelly, the juice of one lemon and a half pound of sugar to each quart of water.

When water ice is correctly frozen, it has the appearance of hard wet snow. It must not be frothy nor light.

A sherbet or sorbet is made from the same mixture as a water ice, stirred constantly while it is freezing, and has a meringue, made from the white of one egg and a tablespoonful of powdered sugar, stirred in after the dasher is removed.

APPLE ICE

1 pound of tart apples 1 cupful of sugar 1 pint of water Juice of one lemon or lime

Quarter and core the apples, but do not pare them. Slice them, add the water, cover and stew until tender, about five minutes. Press through a sieve, add the sugar and lemon juice. When cold, freeze as directed. Serve in lemonade glasses at dinner with roasted duck, goose or pork.

This will serve six persons.

APRICOT ICE

1 quart can of apricots 1/2 cupful of sugar 1 pint of water Juice of one lemon

Press the apricots through a sieve, add all the other ingredients, and serve. This is nice served in lemonade glasses for afternoon tea. Pass sweet wafers.

This will serve eight persons.

CHERRY ICE

2 full quarts of sour cherries 1 pound of sugar 1 quart of water

Stew the cherries in the water for ten minutes and press through a sieve, add the sugar, and, if you have it, two drops of Angostura Bitters; when cold, freeze it as directed on page 63.

This will serve ten persons.

CURRANT WATER ICE

1 pint of currant juice 1 pound of sugar 1 pint of boiling water

Add the sugar to the water, and stir over the fire until it is dissolved. Boil five minutes, take from the fire; when cool, add the currant juice. When cold, freeze as directed on page 63.

This will serve six persons.

CURRANT AND RASPBERRY WATER ICE

1 pint of currant juice 1 pint of raspberry juice 1 pint of water 3/4 pound of sugar

Add the sugar to the water, stir until boiling, boil five minutes, and, when cool, add the raspberry and currant juices, and freeze as directed.

This will serve six persons; in punch glasses, eight persons.

GRAPE WATER ICE

1 pint of grape juice 1 quart of water 1 pound of sugar Juice of one lemon

Boil the sugar and water together for five minutes, take from the fire, add the lemon juice, and skim. When cold, add the grape juice, and freeze as directed.

If fresh grapes are to be used, select Muscatels or Concords. Pulp the grapes, boil the pulps, press them through a sieve, and add the skins and the pulps to the sugar and water. Boil five minutes, press as much as possible through a sieve, and freeze.

This will serve eight persons.

LEMON WATER ICE

4 large lemons 1 quart of water 1-1/4 pounds of sugar

Grate the yellow rind of two lemons into the sugar, add the water, stir over the fire until the sugar is dissolved, and boil for five minutes. Strain, and stand aside to cool. When cold, add the juice of the lemons, and freeze as directed on page 63.

This will serve six persons.

GINGER WATER ICE

6 ounces of preserved ginger 4 lemons 1 quart of water 1 pound of sugar

Put four ounces of the ginger through an ordinary meat grinder, and cut the remaining two ounces into fine bits. Boil the sugar and water together for five minutes, and add the lemon juice and ground ginger. Take from the fire, add the bits of ginger, and, when cold, freeze as directed. Ginger water ice is better for a two hour stand, after it is frozen. Nice to serve with roasted or braised beef.

This will serve six persons; in small punch glasses, eight.

MILLE FRUIT WATER ICE

1/2 pint of grape juice 6 lemons 1 orange 4 tablespoonfuls of sherry 1/2 pound of preserved cherries or pineapple, or both mixed 1-1/2 pounds of sugar 1 quart of water

Grate the yellow rind of the orange and one lemon into the sugar, add the water, stir over the fire until the sugar is dissolved, boil five minutes, and strain. Add the fruit cut into small pieces, the juice of the orange and the lemons; when cold, add the grape juice and sherry, and freeze, using the dasher. Do not stir rapidly, but stir continuously, as slowly as possible. When the mixture is frozen, remove the dasher and repack the can; ripen at least two hours.

This is one of the nicest of all the water ices, and may be served on the top of Coupe St. Jacque, or at dinner in sherbet glasses with roasted veal or beef.

This will serve ten persons.

ORANGE WATER ICE

12 large oranges 1 pound of sugar 1 quart of water

Grate the yellow rind from three oranges into the sugar, add the water, boil five minutes, and strain; when cold, add the orange juice, and freeze as directed for water ices.

This will serve ten persons.

POMEGRANATE WATER ICE

12 good sized pomegranates 1 pint of water 1 pound of sugar

Cut the pomegranates into halves, remove the seeds carefully from the inside bitter skin; press them with a potato masher in the colander, allowing the juice to run through into a bowl; be careful not to mash the seeds. Add the sugar to the juice and stir until it is dissolved; then add the water, cold, and freeze. This is very nice to serve with a meat course, and also nice for the garnish of a fruit salad.

This will serve six persons.

PINEAPPLE WATER ICE

2 ripe pineapples or 1 quart can of grated pineapple 1 quart of water 1-1/2 pounds of sugar Juice of two lemons

Pare the pineapples, remove the eyes, and grate the fruit into the water. Add the sugar and lemon juice, boil five minutes, and, when cold, freeze as directed on page 63.

This will serve ten persons.

STRAWBERRY WATER ICE

1 quart of strawberries 1 pound of sugar 1 quart of water Juice of two lemons

Add the sugar and the lemon juice to the stemmed strawberries, let them stand one hour; mash them through a colander, and then, if you like, strain through a fine sieve. Add the water, and freeze as directed on page 63.

This will serve eight persons.

RASPBERRY WATER ICE

1 quart of red raspberries 1 pound of sugar 1 quart of water Juice of two lemons

Add the sugar and the lemon juice to the raspberries, stir and stand aside one hour. Press through a sieve, add the water, and freeze as directed on page 63.

This will serve eight persons.

ROMAN PUNCH

Make one quart of lemon water ice. When ready to serve, fill it into small punch glasses, make a little well in the centre and fill the space with good Jamaica rum.

This will serve eight persons.

SOUR SOP SHERBET OR ICE

Squeeze the juice from one large sour sop, strain, and add four tablespoonfuls of sugar, boiled a moment with four tablespoonfuls of water. Freeze as directed on page 63.

A quart of sour sop when frozen will serve six persons.

CRANBERRY SHERBET

1 pint of cranberries 1/2 pound of sugar 1/2 pint of water

Add the water to the cranberries, cover, bring to a boil; press through a colander, return them to the fire, add the sugar, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Take from the fire, and, when cold, freeze, stirring slowly all the while.

Serve with the meat course at dinner.

This will serve eight persons.

CUCUMBER SORBET

2 large cucumbers 2 tart apples 1 pint of water 1 teaspoonful of sugar 1/2 teaspoonful of salt 1 tablespoonful of gelatin 1 saltspoonful of black pepper Juice of one lemon

Peel the cucumbers, cut them into halves and remove the seeds. Dissolve the gelatin in a half cupful of hot water. Grate the flesh of the cucumbers; grate the apples, add them to the cucumbers, and add all the other ingredients. Freeze as you would ordinary sherbet.

Serve in tiny glasses, with boiled cod or halibut.

This will fill eight small stem glasses.

GOOSEBERRY SORBET

1/2 pint of gooseberry jam 4 tablespoonfuls of sugar 1 pint of water Juice of one lemon

Mix all the ingredients together and freeze, turning slowly all the while. Serve in small glasses.

This is usually served at Christmas dinner with goose.

This will serve six persons.

ORANGE SHERBET

1 pint of orange juice 2 tablespoonfuls of gelatin 3/4 pound of sugar 1 pint of water

Cover the gelatin with an extra half cupful of cold water and soak for a half hour. Add the sugar to the pint of water and stir it over the fire until it boils; add the grated yellow rind of two oranges and the juice; strain through a fine sieve and freeze, turning the freezer slowly all the while. Remove the dasher, stir in a meringue made from the white of one egg, and repack to ripen for an hour at least.

This will serve six persons.

MINT SHERBET

2 dozen stalks of spearmint 1/2 pound of sugar 1 quart of water Juice of three lemons

Strip the leaves from the stalks of the mint, chop them to a pulp and rub them with the sugar. Add the water, bring to a boil, boil five minutes, and, when cold, add three drops of green coloring and the juice of the lemons; strain and freeze, turning slowly all the while.

Serve at dinner with mutton or lamb.

This will serve six persons; in small stem glasses, eight persons.

TOMATO SORBET OR SHERBET

1 quart can or 12 fresh tomatoes 1 slice of onion 1 blade of mace 1 saltspoonful of celery seed 1 pint of water 1 teaspoonful of salt 1 teaspoonful of paprika 1 tablespoonful of gelatin Juice of one lemon A dash of cayenne

Add all the ingredients to the tomatoes, stir over the fire until the mixture reaches the boiling point, boil five minutes, and strain through a fine sieve. When this is cold, freeze according to the rule for sherbets, turning slowly all the time.

Serve in punch glasses at dinner as an accompaniment to roasted beef, or venison, or saddle of mutton.

If fresh tomatoes are used, simply cut them into halves and cook them without peeling.

This will fill nine or ten punch glasses.