Grapefruit-Buttermilk Sherbet from Cooking Light, January/February 2011

This morning I was awakened by coughing, snorting and a little voice by the side of my bed saying, "Mommy, I can't sleep with my nose stuffed up." It was well before the sun was up but Hubby was already up and out of bed so I had Dudette climb up and take his spot for a few minutes (remind me that I'll need to wash his pillow now). As we chatted and snugged, we watched the sun start peeking from behind the drapes, which caused Dudette to ask about how the sun and moon come up. She assumed that it really happens the way it does in the cartoons.

So, at 7am we had a lesson in sun, star and moon rotation and we watched the sun come up together.

When I look at this picture I think of sunrise. When I eat grapefruit I think of bright mornings too. There's just something about that fruit that is a ray of bright sun to me. In my opinion, anything made with grapefruit should evoke the same reaction.

This issue of Cooking Light has a full section dedicated to citrus. Along with a helpful description of the various better-known varieties of citrus types, there are six recipes that put a fun spin on dishes that include tangelos, grapefruit, clementines, blood oranges, oranges and lemon.

The Grapefruit-Buttermilk Sherbet is is one of those and ended up being the first I'd try in this magazine.

I didn't realize that within the definition of sherbet was the inclusion of a small amount of milk. Whoda thunk it. If there isn't any milk, it's a sorbet. In this case, the milk product is buttermilk, playing off the tartness of the grapefruit. Because it's not an ice cream, the preparation is easy and the longest part of making this is waiting.

It starts with 2 tablespoons of grapefruit rind that's been finely chopped and gets boiled in water. Then the water's dumped and the rind is saved. Huh, I thought. Strange beginning. After that, the rind, some sugar and a cup of fresh grapefruit juice (took me 2 decent-sized grapefruits to get that amount) are brought to a boil in a pan and then simmered for a while. When that's done, into the fridge the mixture goes to cool completely. First waiting period.

The juice gets strained into a bowl with the buttermilk and vodka and mixed well, then added to the ice cream maker of your choice, where it churns for a good while until it hits the right consistency. For those who think adding the vodka will scar kids for life or make it an adult-only dessert, it's just a couple of tablespoons to keep the sherbet from freezing solid. Since it ends up being eight servings, I think Nyquil has more alcohol. Ok, not a good example, but you get my drift. You don't have to use the vodka, but have a chisel ready if you don't.

Once the sherbet is churned to your liking, put it in a container and then into the fridge for a couple of hours so it can set. While that's happening, you can make the candied grapefruit rind by boiling strips in simple syrup for 30 minutes, draining them, then rolling them in sugar. I suggest this (I'll explain in a bit).

The sherbet came out absolutely beautiful. I love the soft, gentle color. It scooped out just like sherbet should into a soft, silk mount of frozen goodness. Then I tasted it. Grapefruit fore-taste; buttermilk tang after-taste. Not so appealing. Ahhh, peeling. I added a couple candied grapefruit peels and tried again. The candied rind made all the difference for some reason. The slight bitterness of the rind broke down the sourness of the buttermilk that is so obviously not citrus sour flavor. It was like eating a different dish and I enjoyed it.

I offered some to Dudette. She took one taste and cried, "Mommy, that's disgusting. Yuck. Why did you make me eat it?" Ok, so maybe this a more adult dessert. I could see that. So, I gave a bowl to Hubby. "Wow, what an aftertaste," he said, and not in a good way. I asked him to eat one of the candied rinds and try again. He did and said it helped but not enough that I need to make the sherbet again. ::sigh::

It's true. I think we're just not buttermilk fans and the sourness of that overwhelms the rest of the flavor for us. If you like buttermilk, I can guarantee you'll like this. The execution of the sherbet is flawless and it turns out gorgeous. The taste all rests upon whether you enjoy drinking buttermilk. If you do; make this. You won't be disappointed. If you're neutral; eat lots of candied grapefruit rinds while having the sherbet. If you don't like buttermilk; find another dessert.

Grapefruit-Buttermilk Sherbet
from Cooking Light Magazine


1  cup  water
2  tablespoons  finely chopped red grapefruit rind
1  cup  sugar
1  cup  fresh red grapefruit juice
2  cups  whole buttermilk
2  tablespoons  vodka

Boil1 cup water a small pan. Add the chopped grapefruit rind to pan, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Strain the water reserving rind. IN a medium saucepan, combine rind, sugar, and grapefruit juice. Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves, then reduce the heat, and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and pour the mixture into a bowl. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Strain juice mixture and discard the solids. Combine the juice mixture, buttermilk, and vodka in a bowl and mix well. Pour the sherbet mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.