Sherbet (U.S.)
Encyclopedia
Dessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
made from sweetened water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
flavored with fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
(typically juice
Juice
Juice is the liquid that is naturally contained in fruit or vegetable tissue.Juice is prepared by mechanically squeezing or macerating fruit or vegetable flesh without the application of heat or solvents. For example, orange juice is the liquid extract of the fruit of the orange tree...
or puree
Purée
Purée and mash are general terms for cooked food, usually vegetables or legumes, that have been ground, pressed, blended, and/or sieved to the consistency of a soft creamy paste or thick liquid. Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., mashed potatoes or apple sauce...
), wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, and/or liqueur
Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
. The origin of sorbet is variously explained as either a Roman invention, or a Middle Eastern drink charbet, made of sweetened fruit juice and water. The Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
"sorbere" (verb) that come from an Indo-European root
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
that exist in Greek, Slavic and Persian and other indo-European languages. In Latin as the Italian verb sorbire a food means to drink/ to eat in the same-time a food so the substantive sorbetto it is a mix of a solid/liquid food. Probably the Arabs take the word from Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
or from Sassanid Empire
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
when they arrived from the desert of the Arabic peninsula. The term sherbet or charbet is derived from the Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
şerbet, "sorbet", from the Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
sharbat
Sharbat
Sharbat or Sherbet is a popular Middle Eastern and South Asian drink that is prepared from fruits or flower petals. It is sweet and served chilled...
, which in turn comes from the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
شربات meaning "drink(s)" or "juice." Sorbet is sometimes served between courses as a way to cleanse the palate before the main course.
Classification and description
Sorbet is often confused with Italian iceItalian ice
Italian ice, also known as water ice, is a sweetened frozen dessert made with fruit or other natural or artificial food flavorings, similar to sorbet. Italian ice is not shaved ice that is flavored; rather, it is made by the same process by which ice cream is made: freezing the ingredients while...
and often taken to be the same as sherbet
Sherbet
Sherbet may refer to:- Foodstuffs :* Sherbert , an effervescent drink or a fizzy powder sweet, chiefly UK* Sherbert, an American term for a frozen dessert like sorbet, but containing a small amount of dairy...
.
Sorbets/sherbets may also contain alcohol, which lowers the freezing temperature, resulting in softer texture. In the UK and Australia, sherbet
Sherbet (powder)
Sherbet, Kali , or Keli is a fizzy powder sweet, usually eaten by dipping a lollipop or liquorice, or licking it on a finger.-Etymology:...
refers to a fizzy powder, and only the term sorbet would be used.
Whereas ice cream is based on dairy products with air copiously whipped in, sorbet has neither, which makes for a dense and extremely flavourful product. Sorbet is served as a non-fat or low-fat alternative to ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
.
In Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, a similar though crunchier textured dish called granita
Granita
Granita is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavorings. Originally from Sicily, although available all over Italy , it is related to sorbet and italian ice. However, in most of Sicily, it has a coarser, more crystalline texture...
is made. As the liquid in granita freezes it forms noticeably large-size crystals, which are left unstirred. Granita is also often sharded with a fork to give an even crunchier texture when served.
Agraz is a type of sorbet, usually associated with the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
and north Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It is made from almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
s, verjuice
Verjuice
Verjuice is a very acidic juice made by pressing unripe grapes, crab-apples or other sour fruit. Sometimes lemon or sorrel juice, herbs or spices are added to change the flavour. In the Middle Ages, it was widely used all over Western Europe as an ingredient in sauces, as a condiment, or to...
, and sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
. It has a strongly acidic flavour, because of the verjuice. (Larousse Gastronomique
Larousse Gastronomique
Larousse Gastronomique is an encyclopedia of gastronomy. The majority of the book is about French cuisine, and contains recipes for French dishes and cooking techniques...
)
Early history and folklore
One account says that Marco PoloMarco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
brought a recipe for a sorbet-like dessert on his way back to Italy from China in the late 13th century, as written in an account of his journey, The Travels of Marco Polo
The Travels of Marco Polo
Books of the Marvels of the World or Description of the World , also nicknamed Il Milione or Oriente Poliano and commonly called The Travels of Marco Polo, is a 13th-century travelogue written down by Rustichello da Pisa from stories told by Marco Polo, describing the...
.
Other folklore holds that Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
, the Roman Emperor, invented sorbet during the first century AD when he had runners along the Appian way pass buckets of snow hand over hand from the mountains to his banquet hall where it was then mixed with honey and wine.
Frozen desserts are believed to have been brought to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1533 by Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
when she left Italy to marry the Duke of Orleans, who later became Henry II of France
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
. By the end of the 17th century, sorbet was served in the streets of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and spread to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and the rest of Europe.
American terminology
In the United States, sorbet and sherbet (although it's spelled 'sherbet' it is widely pronounced 'sherbert') are different products. For Americans, sherbet is the more widely known term and typically designates a fruity flavored frozen dairy product with a milkfat content between 1 and 2%. Sorbet, on the other hand, is considered by Americans to be a fruity frozen product with no dairy content, similar to Italian iceItalian ice
Italian ice, also known as water ice, is a sweetened frozen dessert made with fruit or other natural or artificial food flavorings, similar to sorbet. Italian ice is not shaved ice that is flavored; rather, it is made by the same process by which ice cream is made: freezing the ingredients while...
.
Sherbet in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
must include dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
ingredients such as milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
or cream
Cream
Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream this process is accelerated by using centrifuges called "separators"...
to reach a milkfat content between 1% and 2%. Products with higher milkfat content of 10% or higher are defined as ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
, while those between 2% and 10% milkfat are termed "frozen dairy dessert"; products with lower milkfat content and not using any milk or cream ingredients, and no egg ingredients other than the egg white, are defined as water ice
Italian ice
Italian ice, also known as water ice, is a sweetened frozen dessert made with fruit or other natural or artificial food flavorings, similar to sorbet. Italian ice is not shaved ice that is flavored; rather, it is made by the same process by which ice cream is made: freezing the ingredients while...
. The use of the term "sorbet" is unregulated and is most commonly used with non-dairy, fruit juice "italian ice" products. Although some people may interchange the terms "sorbet" and "sherbet", usual usage by Americans and the manufacturers of these products bears a clear distinction. A similar situation occurs in the legal definitions by differing international state governments on what is considered beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
.
English/French labeling
On sherbet packages which have both English and French labels, sherbet is translated to sorbet laitier which directly translates into English as dairy sorbet, differentiating the milk-containing sherbet from milk-less sorbet.Central Asia
In Central Asia, sherbet is not an ice-cream, but has a solid state.See also
- Aria di sorbettoAria di sorbettoThe Aria di sorbetto, or "sherbet aria", was a convention of Italian opera in the early nineteenth century.- Background :Nineteenth-century audiences would rarely listen to an opera straight through, preferring instead to talk among themselves, eat, and drink for much of the performance...
- FaloodehFaloodehFālūde or Pālūde is a Persian cold dessert made of thin vermicelli noodles with corn starch, rose water, lime juice, and often ground pistachios. It is a traditional dessert in Iran and Afghanistan. The faloodeh of Shiraz is especially famous....
- GelatoGelatoGelato is the italian word for ice cream and sorbet. Italians use the word gelato to mean a sweet treat that is served frozen. Indeed, gelato, just like ice cream, is made with Milk, cream, various sugars, flavoring including fresh fruit and nut purees....
- GivréGivréGivré is a dessert that consists of sorbet in a frozen coconut or fruit shell....
- Halo halo
- Ice kacang
- KakigoriKakigoriis a Japanese shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and condensed milk.Popular flavors include: strawberry, cherry, lemon, green tea, grape, melon, "Blue Hawaii," sweet plum, and colorless syrup. Some shops provide colorful varieties by using two or more different syrups. To sweeten kakigōri,...
- KulfiKulfiKulfi or Qulfi is a popular frozen dairy dessert from the Indian Subcontinent. It is often described as "traditional Indian Subcontinent ice-cream". It is popular throughout countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma , and even the Middle East...
- Patbingsu
- PopsiclePopsiclePopsicle is the most popular brand of ice pop in the United States and Canada. The first ice pop was created by accident in 1905 when 11-year-old Frank Epperson left a cup of soda on his porch in cold weather overnight. The next morning he went to go get the soda and it was frozen, so he put two...
(Ice PopIce popAn ice pop, also referred to in the United States as a popsicle, and in the United Kingdom as an ice lolly, lolly ice or ice lollipop, is a frozen, water-based dessert. It is made by freezing flavored liquid around a stick. Often, the juice is colored artificially...
) - SlushSlush (beverage)A slush is a flavored frozen drink.There are a number of different kinds of slush drinks:* Frozen carbonated beverages, typified by the Slurpee or ICEE, are made by freezing a carbonated drink. These machines are complicated and expensive, and notably require a carbon dioxide supply...
- Snow coneSnow coneSnow cones or snow balls are a variation of the shaved ice dessert commonly served throughout North America in paper cones or styrofoam cups...
- SpoomSpoomThe New Concise Larousse Gastronomique describes spoom as: "A type of frothy sorbet, which used to be a great favourite in England, made with a lighter syrup than that required for a true sorbet. As it begins to set, it is mixed with half its volume of Italian meringue...