I bought an ice cream maker recently, very enthusiastically. It has churned out all kinds of delicious flavours since then, like vanilla-lavender, vegan coconut-rose and even a Belgian chocolate. What I had not attempted yet was a sorbet, but it still being the peak of summer put that temptation for this light, refreshing, ice-cool dessert into my mind. Many of the recipes I researched looked pretty simple, so I decided to give it a shot. The star ingredient I decided on was the super-hydrating watermelon. There is plenty on the market at present, and a watermelon sorbet seemed just perfect for this sweltering season.

Luckily for me, in addition to the sweet and nutritious watermelon, my friend Garima gifted me a bag full of Meyer lemons too, and these found their place here too. You may remember that they featured in this lemon poppy cake. I don’t know if she was already aware that I adore Meyer lemons, but the fact that they were available here in Chennai was a happy surprise to me. I did not want to waste a single one. I prepared an utterly delicious lemon curd one day, and when the craving for a sorbet came, I realised that a dash of lemon would be ideal to enhance it too.

The recipe I am providing below has the necessary details both for those of you who have ice cream makers and for those of you who will just use moulds and freezers. The method is very straightforward and easy to follow. Feel free to play around with the flavours, replacing watermelon with another fruit, such as mango for instance. As you read earlier, I’ve been quite adventurous when it comes to ice creams and will surely experiment with different sorbet combinations too. For now, this watermelon sorbet with a little bit of Meyer lemon juice has my heart.

It reminds me so much of when I was growing up, when a parlour called Joy Ice Cream was one of the very popular spots in the city. It was also one of the few ice cream parlours that existed here for a long time. They had raspberry and mango popsicles, which sorbets call to mind. When I served this dish for the first time, it transported me right back to those days. To those years, I should say… When I was small, we would go there as a family for a treat after dinner sometimes. Later, once I entered adulthood, it continued to be a space of camaraderie too.

In fact, the first place that my husband and I went to after being introduced was to Joy Ice Cream. Not long after, as a newly-married woman, it was a place where I would go to meet my friends. We were all young, and had mostly just gotten married, and we would exchange experiences and stories about our lives and our learnings. It was a place where stories and sweetness were shared, and new friends were made. This watermelon sorbet carries all those memories for me.

Now of course, Joy Ice Cream doesn’t exist, and dozens of brands and flavours are available at the click of a button on many apps. A frozen treat is always a delight, but making one myself makes me feel connected to those simpler times. There’s just something special about this watermelon sorbet, as I hope you’ll see…

Watermelon Sorbet

(Yield: 6 popsicles)

 

1 litre watermelon juice

250 grams sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

A tiny pinch of salt

 

In a clean pan, add the sugar, salt and ¼ of the watermelon juice. Place on a medium flame and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Remove from the stove and add the remaining watermelon juice. Stir well, then pop the mixture in the freezer until chilled, but not frozen.

If you have a machine: take the mixture out of the freezer, put it in the ice cream maker and follow the machine’s instructions. If you do not have a machine: pour the chilled mixture directly into the popsicle moulds and leave the tray to set in the freezer.

To serve, rinse the popsicle moulds for a few seconds under tap water and they will release easily. It goes without saying that this sorbet needs to be served immediately after it has set.

I’ve shared many desserts on this blog over the last five and a half years, but this is the very first time that a sorbet has made an appearance, so it’s quite exciting for me. I hope you’ll enjoy this melony, lemony and most lovely dessert, and that it brings back to you happy memories and helps you make more of them too!