Roast Fresh Fruit For A More Flavorful Sorbet

Sorbet is a light and refreshing dessert that is as easy to make as it is to enjoy. The most basic sorbet recipes require only fruit, sugar, and a little bit of effort. No fancy equipment is needed either, making it an excellent treat to throw together at home for guests or even just for yourself. If you feel like going the extra mile, however, we recommend taking the time to roast your fruit before putting together your sorbet to make it extra special.

Roasting fruit is a fantastic way to elevate any kind of recipe in which they are used. Primarily, the technique concentrates the juicy, sweet flavors of the produce, making the flavors more intense and sophisticated. This is especially helpful since we don't taste cold foods as well as we do hot ones. Additionally, the heat from the act of roasting fruit helps to slightly caramelize the natural sugars contained in fruit, making the flavor even more layered and delectable.

Roasting fruits is not a complex task, and you can do it easily in your oven, as we recommend in our roasted strawberry and black pepper gelato recipe. Begin by washing, drying, and slicing your fruit into manageable chunks. The smaller the pieces, the more quickly and fully the fruit will roast, giving them the added benefit of a greater surface area. Spread your chosen fruit pieces out evenly on a lined baking tray, then stick them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes or until the fruit is soft and jammy.

For the highest odds of success when trying this technique, check out our tips for perfect roasted fruit. For example, selecting different fruits to roast will yield different results — a smaller, delicate fruit will roast faster and more effectively than a larger, hardier fruit. One key point is that you should always flip the fruit halfway through roasting. It is also worth noting that fruits you plan on roasting don't need to be the prettiest produce at the grocery store or market. Particularly if you are blending the fruit into sorbet, this is a great way to use up overripe, underripe, or slightly bruised fruit.