Description
Honeysuckle sorbet is the signature recipe of James Beard award winner chef Bill Smith of Crook’s Corner Cafe and Bar. It captures the aromoa of honeysucke in a not-too-sweet sorbet.
Scale
Ingredients
- 4 cups tightly packed but not smashed honeysuckle flowers, leaves and stems discarded (Lonicera japonica is the edible kind)
- 5 1/3 cups cool water
- 1 1/3 cup water
- 2 cups sugar
- a few drop freshly squeezed lemon juice
- a speckcinnamon
Instructions
- Steep the blossoms: Place blossoms in a nonreactive bowl, glass or stainless steel, and cover with cool water. Weigh down with a plate. Let them stand on the counter overnight.
- Make a simple sugar: Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Boil until all the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to look lustrous and slightly thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Add lemon juice to prevent sugar from recystallizzing. Cool syrup completely.
- Make the sorbet mixture: Strain honeysuckle infusion, gently pressing the blossoms so as not to waste any of your efforts. Combine the two liquids and add the merest dusting of cinnamon.
- Churn: Churn in an ice cream maker, per manufacturer’s instructions.
Notes
This does not keep for more than a week or two.
This recipe is published with the generous permission of its creator, Bill Smith of Crook’s Corner Cafe and Bar. It appears in his book Seasoned in the South, (Algonquin Books, ©2006).
Please note that Lonicera japonica is the edible form of honeysuckle that grows commonly in North America. There are more than 180 species of honeysuckle worldwide. Most species in Europe are not edible.