Lemon-Buttermilk Sorbet

Recipe from Local

Adapted by Amanda Hesser

Published July 18, 2000

  • Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(300)
Comments
Read comments

A bite of this refreshing sorbet is like stepping into a cold shower on a hot summer day. Thanks to the juice and zest of an entire lemon, this four-ingredient frozen treat has plenty of zing, but the creaminess of the buttermilk and the earthiness of the vanilla mellow it all out so you're not left with an unpleasant pucker. A quick note: The zest and the vanilla seeds can clump a bit during the churning process. Just stir it into the sorbet before serving (for soft serve) or freezing (for a firmer sorbet). —Amanda Hesser

Featured in: Improving on Nature: The Small Miracle of Sorbet

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:about 3½ cups

  • ½ cup sugar

  • 2 cups low-fat buttermilk

  • 1 inch-long piece vanilla bean, scraped

  • Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

33 grams carbs; 5 milligrams cholesterol; 155 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram fat; 1 gram fiber; 182 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein; 32 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small saucepan, combine sugar with ½ cup water. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let syrup cool. Chill in refrigerator.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, syrup, vanilla bean and scraping, lemon juice and zest. Taste and adjust sweetness or acid. Pour into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
300 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Rayleana

DIVINE!!! This is "last meal" bonafide.... if I could plan my last meal, this would be on the menu! I skipped fiddling over the vanilla bean- added 1/2 tsp vanilla extract instead. Boiled the simple syrup for longer- 5-8 mins. So it would be thicker and set quicker with less ice. DO NOT FORGET A PINCH OF SALT TO THE SIMPLE SYRUP MIXTURE!! "Sweet" requires a little salt. Absolutely amazing.

Renata

I'm sure this would have been delicious as is, but I also roasted some strawberries with a little sugar, put them through a sieve, and mixed them into this. The results were amazing lemony berry, tangy goodness.

Michelle McClintock

Leave out the dairy, then. That’s the thing to do if you can’t tolerate it.

Just me

Made this for the first time using the ninja creamy machine. It was wonderful! I used powdered buttermilk blend made by the Saco Pantry rather than buttermilk. Just add water. Bought it at my local Publix.

Andrea

This was lovely on a hot, muggy afternoon. The prep is minimal and the results are very good. I used a very simple cuisinart ice cream maker that I hadn’t used in a decade. After about 15 min of churning, the consistency was between a sorbet and a slushie. I used a very juicy lemon and a bit less of the syrup; no vanilla (because I wanted an unadulterated taste of lemon and buttermilk—which reminded me of a commercial ice cream cone with similar flavors).

Susan

Tell me how much juice is supposed to come from 1 lemon. The lemons on my tree seem to come in a wide range of sizes. I get anywhere from 1/4 cup to over 1/2 cup of juice from one.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Credits

Adapted from Local

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.