We had such success with Pear William sorbet last week I decided to experiment a little. I had intended to get strawberries at the local market. Or maybe mangos. But for whatever reason, there were none to be had. They did have overripe bananas, which I bought for banana bread. I even considered making banana sorbet, but (no matter what you add) it usually turns brown after a day. Then I saw the sign.
"Kiwis: 6 for $1"
Why not? I like kiwis. They were pretty ripe and soft, perfect for making sorbet. And the price is right. If it doesn't work I haven't spent a fortune. I remembered from Culinary School that you really don't want to cook kiwis so the sorbet recipe is perfect. Make up the sugar, glucose and stabilizer mixture. Blend in the kiwis. Then let the freezer do its magic.
One problem. The book I have with formulas for different fruit sorbets does not include kiwi. I quickly scanned the table. It lists how much sugar, glucose powder and sorbet stabilizer is needed for one kilo of each type of pureed fruit. I used the formula for strawberry puree, but with a higher ratio of the sugar mixture, and slightly more stabilizer. It worked great! So here it is. You will need a kitchen scale that measures grams.
Kiwi Sorbet Recipe
12 kiwis, peeled and pureed, about 600 grams of puree
250 grams granulated sugar
50 grams powdered glucose
4 grams sorbet stabilizer
350 grams water
1 tsp. salt
Combine the sugar, glucose, sorbet stabilizer and water in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sweeteners. Cool completely over an ice bath, or overnight in the refrigerator. Stir in the kiwi puree and salt. Pour into an ice cream freezer and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Makes about 1 quart.
Stabilizer is important to prevent ice creams, gelatos and sorbets from becoming gritty and hard when frozen. You can leave it out if you intend to enjoy the sorbet immediately, but it is absolutely necessary if you intend to keep it overnight. You can buy sorbet and ice cream stabilizer on the Internet. We buy ours from Albert Uster, but PastryChef.com also carries it.
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