Summer is here. . .well at least in Seattle. This weekend was a fabulous 75+F degree weekend. I finished planting my first vegetable garden and really excited about it. I always do pots of herbs and this year i am growing: cilantro, dill, rosemary, thyme, basil, and parsley. But but also my first batch of vegetables and fruit. For vegetables i have tomatoes, spinach, green beans, parsnip, radish, green onions and fennel. And for fruit i have blueberries, rhubarb, strawberries, and red currants. I am so excited about my red currants – it was hard to find but i haven’t seen them around since i was a little kid, can’t wait to see them grow. I am also just eager to see what will survive in Seattle and see what i remove or add next year. I will give you progress reports through out the summer.
Since summer was here i thought it was time to make another sorbet. I had received a big box from Lipton to try their new exciting 100% Natural Lipton Ice Tea flavors and i was a littel surprised how good they were, because i can tell you I am not a fan of Lipton Brisk at all. But this was not made with a bunch of chemicals and also not too sweet like so many other drinks are. The new 100% Lipton Iced Tea is available in these flowing flavors: Green Tea with Citrus and Iced Tea with Lemon, as well as two new flavors—Iced Tea with Pomegranate Blueberry and Green Tea with Passionfruit Mango. They also have naturally flavored and preservative-free diet flavors—Diet Green Tea with Citrus and Diet Green Tea with Watermelon. I really enjoyed both Green Tea Flavors and the Pomegranate Blueberry.
Since i had all this Green Tea and it was a fabulous weekend i decided to make Green Tea and Lemon Sorbet.
Green Tea and Lemon Sorbet
Yield: 1 quart | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Chill Time: 1 hour
2 cups boiling water (only if using Tea Bags)
8 Lipton Green Tea Bags or 1 – 20oz bottle of 100% Lipton Green Tea
1 cups sugar (use 1/2 cup sugar if using 1 – 20oz bottle of 100% Lipton Green Tea)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp of vodkaThe trick I learned to making a good sorbet is that you need to make a simple syrup to sweeten it, straight sugar won’t have a good texture. Then the mixture needs a dash of alcohol to inhibit the freezing process, otherwise your sorbet will be a brick. This formula is very easy and it should work with any fruit or flavor, just be sure to taste the mixture for sweetness and acid.
The rule of thought it that for every 1 cup of juice, you use ½ cup of sugar and 2 tbsp of alcohol. But since I was using already sweetened Green Tea I only used 1/2 of the sugar required.
If you are using Lipton Tea Bags, in teapot, pour boiling water over Lipton Green Tea Bags. Cover and brew 5 minutes. Remove Tea Bags and squeeze. This is your “juice” or you can use the 1-20oz bottle of 100% Lipton Green Tea.
Prepare an ice bath and put aside.
Then in a small saucepan, combine the sugar and ½ cup of the green tea. Bring to a boil then lower heat to medium and cook until the sugar has completely dissolved, 8-10 minutes. Transfer the syrup to your remaining green tea and set over an ice bath. Stir occasionally until cooled to room temperature, then add the lemon juice and vodka.
Once the mixture has cooled, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Also for the summer Lipton partnered with Pandora internet radio. Who doesn’t love Pandora? I listen to is while working out, at home and at work. I love it. To check out Lipton Pandora Stations go to Pandora Pop, Lipton Country, Lipton Rock or Lipton Hip-Hop.
For more information go to: Facebook.com/LiptonIcedTea or twitter.com/Lipton.
Miel et Lait says
June 6, 2011 at 8:15 pmGreen tea is one of my favorites! This sounds like a refreshing sorbet. When it gets hot enough, I hope I remember this recipe. Right now, it feels more like spring than summer in NJ.
Heather (Heather's Dish) says
June 6, 2011 at 8:40 pmi never really loved green tea, but pair it with lemon in a sorbet and i’m all over that!
Maris(In Good Taste) says
June 7, 2011 at 12:40 amRefreshing and such a healthy treat!
Elle says
June 7, 2011 at 5:59 amSo refreshing, I’m sure!
Faith says
June 7, 2011 at 8:55 amGreat tea. I always loved Lipton brand and you made it into something really refershing and delicious.
Have a great week ahead.
Alena says
June 7, 2011 at 1:41 pmOh yum. Perfect for this hot and icky weather!
DessertForTwo says
June 7, 2011 at 3:35 pmI love this flavor combination! Sounds like a great sorbet!
megan @ whatmegansmaking says
June 8, 2011 at 6:28 amThis sounds so good! I don’t like drinking green tea plain, but I have a bunch of green tea bags in my pantry that I need to use up. I’ll be trying this in my new ice cream maker! 🙂
Nami @ Just One Cookbook says
June 8, 2011 at 8:45 amI LOVE IT! I have never tried non-creamy green tea ice cream. I almost think green tea sorbet than ice cream (um but still difficult choice). Your sorbet add lemon flavor too. This is a perfect dessert for me, instead of having “sweet” ice cream. I need to buy an ice cream maker…
carolinaheartstrings says
June 8, 2011 at 11:55 amWhat fantastic pictures. Looks wonderful both of them. The sorbet is just so refreshing looking.
Eliana says
June 24, 2011 at 8:05 amI recently made a lemon sorbet but the idea of adding green tea flavor sound so inviting. Sounds like I have a new project for this weekend.
mjskit says
June 26, 2011 at 8:41 pmI love green tea ice cream, so a green tea sorbet makes. I have lots of Jasmine green tea and just as many lemons right now so this recipe is perfect! Thanks so much!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
August 2, 2011 at 11:04 amGreat idea! I must try this!
Matt says
December 23, 2011 at 12:39 pmIs their a mistake in the recipe? You mentioned “for every 1 cup of juice, you use ½ cup of sugar”. However, your recipe uses 2c of “juice” and 2c of sugar. I tried making this the other day and it came out really sweet even with using tea bags. Also, did you find a shot of vodka to be too much? I only added 1/2 shot and it was soft when frozen over night. Although it could be from the increased sugar content. Any ideas?
Delishhh replied: — January 5th, 2012 @ 3:52 pm
Matt – yes you are correct you should be using 1 cup of juice, you use ½ cup of sugar i will fix that right away – thank for letting me know. I have always used 2 tbsp of alcohol for 1 cup of juice – but try using 2 tbsp instead for 2 cups of juice. The alcohol is there more to help inhibit the freezing process – so the amount doesn’t really matter as long as there is something there. Let me know how it goes.
Ellis Tonne says
September 7, 2012 at 4:29 pm262 W 38th St
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