This rhubarb mint sorbet is for those who love rhubarb as well as for those who don’t. And how do I know this to be true? Bobby isn’t a fan of rhubarb unless it’s combined with strawberries – until now. He loves the addition of the mint because it both complements and reduces the tartness of the rhubarb. A wonderful summer treat.
I was so excited when I went to the local co-op last week and found fresh rhubarb. I wanted to go home and make a rhubarb-strawberry cobbler; however, summer has set in so the highs are in the 90’s. In this house – that means it’s too hot to run the oven. When you cool your house with a swamp cooler (very common in the southwest) it’s hard to keep the house cool if the oven is on. So – since I can’t use the oven, I had to come up with something else to do with the rhubarb.
I decided to try my hand at a rhubarb sorbet. We both love sorbet, so why not. I added mint because I have LOTS of it and mint complements just about anything, including rhubarb. And the strawberries that Bobby needs in order to eat rhubarb? Let’s just say I forgot them.
- 3 long stalks of rhubarb about 2 ½ – 3 cups chopped rhubarb
- 8 sprigs fresh mint, about 7 to 8 leaves per sprig – keep leaves and stems intact
- 1 cup water
- Juice from half a lemon
- ¾ to 1 cup 240 ml sugar (more tart and less sweet or less tart and more sweet, respectively)
- 1 Tbsp. Vodka for a smoother sorbet
- Cut the ends off each stalk of rhubarb. Wash and chop the rhubarb into small pieces.*
- In a sauce pan, combine the water, rhubarb, lemon juice, sugar, and mint. Bring to a boil, reduce heat for a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the mint and discard.
- Add the vodka.
- Using an immersion blender or regular blender, puree the rhubarb sugar mixture. Let it cool to at least room temperature.
- Once the rhubarb has cooled, place the puree in the refrigerator and chill overnight. If you can’t wait overnight, then pour the sorbet into a wide metal bowl or ziplock and place in a large pan of ice to speed up the cooling process.
To freeze pour puree into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. (It will freeze faster if the rhubarb puree is cold already.)*
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, pour the puree in a container and place in the freezer. After 30 minutes, stir the puree. Return to the freezer. Repeat every 20 to 30 minutes for 2 to 3 hours or until the sorbet starts to thicken.
Let it set in the freezer overnight to finish freezing. Remove from the freezer about 5 minutes before serving.
If the rhubarb has been picked, shipped and stored in the fridge for several days, you might want to peel it. If the skin is tough, it may not puree very well.
To see a great step-by-step tutorial on how to make this sorbet, check out Javelin’s Tuesday Tutor over at Cookin w/ Luv.
As a kid I use to eat rhubarb by dipping the end in a sugar jar. I loved it! Between that and chewing on sugarcane it’s a wonder that I have any teeth left. I had one hell of a sweet tooth and still do. My mother also loved rhubarb so when it came up in the spring, the rhubarb cobblers and pies started coming out of the oven. They were marvelous – a little tart, a lot of sweet – Yum!
Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, Bobby isn’t a big fan of rhubarb so in order to get my rhubarb fix, I compromise and make my cobblers with a mix of rhubarb and strawberry. However, I wasn’t willing to compromise with the sorbet. When I served it I didn’t tell him what it was which worked. He thought he was eating strawberry sorbet!
So what did this little rhubarb sorbet do for my rhubarb dilemma? Bobby absolutely loved it without any strawberries! Rhubarb cobbler with NO strawberries – here we come!
If you love this sorbet, you’re going to love these ice creams!
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Fantastic! Thanks for linking in to Food on friday again. Cheers
Hello,
Glad to find you here…I like your presentation along with the recipe,
I would appreciate if you visit my place…
I like your place following you on facebook…
Cheers!
I have to get me a new ice cream maker! Mine broke 🙁 The only way I’ve ever had rhubarb was in pie and that was pretty good. I have read it is very good for you, so if I get a new ice cream maker I will try this. Thanks for linking up!
Great mix of rhubarb and mint in a frozen treat! Thanks for sharing the ice cream love with us!
The sorbet looks amazing! How awesome!
A really good sorbet with such a beautiful pink color!
Happy #icecream love!
So delicious looking sorbet!I love rhubarb and can totally imagine the lovely flavors in your sorbet!Perfect for the hot summer months :)So glad you linked it to our bloghop!!
This sorbet looks fantastic! I need to try this, I only tried rhubarb once as a kid and did not like it. I would like to try it again and I think in a sorbet would be a great way to do it. Thanks for sharing at Showcase Your Talent Thursday!
Yum this sorbet looks delicious!
Thanks so much for linking this delicious looking sorbet up to Creative Thursday link party.
I can’t wait to see what you link up this week. Have a great day.
Michelle
Thanks for sharing on Allergy-Free Wednesday! Hope you’ll join us again this week with another great recipe!
Wow, this sounds delicious MJ! I’ve never heard of rhubarb sorbet or ice cream before, but I love the concept and it looks so good. What a wonderful recipe to share and thank you so much for bringing it to Made with Love Mondays!
I’m so glad your husband enjoyed the rhubarb sorbet! It certainly looks beautiful, and I love the idea of using mint in it as well. It sounds so summery and delicious. I like the tip about adding the Vodka – I never thought about how that could make sorbet smoother. Thank you for sharing it, and this wonderful recipe!
Perfect timing – I just harvested some rhubarb. I love the idea of combining rhubarb with mint; such a delicious combination. I look forward to trying this.
I made this sorbet last weekend. It was delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
Sally, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment.