Friday, June 12, 2009

A Perfect Pearing

I saw this recipe for Red Wine and Pear Sorbet on the PBS show, Everyday Food. I don't drink red wine so I thought, "oh I'll never make this" and quickly fast-forwarded through it. Then I remembered I still had POM juice in the fridge and rewound it and paid careful attention. I immediately pulled out my laptop and bookmarked this recipe.

My mother-in-law loves pomegranate juice so I decided to make this for her birthday and I served it with angel food cake and strawberries. I wish I had doubled the recipe though because we quickly consumed it and I was longing for more.

Since POM juice is sweeter than red wine, I cut back slightly on the amount of sugar and I added a few drops of red food coloring just to brighten it up a bit. It came together quickly and morphed from a frozen solid mass into a smooth blush beauty with the assistance of the food processor. Tart, smooth, creamy, sweet and refreshing. A perfect fat free summer treat.

POMegranate and Pear Sorbet adapted from Everyday Food
  • 1 cup POM juice
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 lb. ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces (2 cups)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • Coarse salt
  • a few drops red food coloring, optional

In a small saucepan, bring juice, water, and sugar to a boil over medium heat, stirring often, until sugar dissolves. Add pears; reduce heat, and simmer until tender, 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in lemon juice, food coloring (if using) and a pinch of salt; cool completely. Transfer to a shallow baking dish. Freeze until solid, about 6 hours (or overnight).

With a fork, break frozen mixture into large pieces. In two batches, purée in a food processor until completely smooth, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Transfer to an airtight container; freeze until ready to serve (sorbet will be soft).

Makes 1 quart

NOTE: I made this in two steps. On the first day I boiled the juice, sugar and pears and poured it into a pyrex dish. I then froze it for a couple days, then processed it til smooth on the third day. Do what you can with the time you have. This recipe's flavor will not be affected, in the least.

See my other POM recipes:

Updated: I entered this in the ice cream social sponsored by ScottySnacks, SavortheThyme and Tangled Noodle.

22 comments:

unconfidentialcook said...

It's so pretty! And...I bet it's plenty good and refreshing, too. What a perfect summery dessert.

Heather S-G said...

Looks so pretty...and sounds scrumptious!

Haden News said...

Looks soo yummy... I can't wait to make it. Thanks for the recipe!!

Donna-FFW said...

GORGEOUS color. I bet it was just fantastic. perfect also for a hot summer day!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Love the colors. I agree with Donna they're gorgeous!

Btw, that was VERY cool how you changed the focus on the second & third photos! How'd you do that?
~ingrid

Gracey said...

Wow, this looks amazing! I will try it myself as soon as possible.

Kristen said...

I am seeing POM juice everywhere but never tried it, I'll have to take a closer look, sounds delish

Selba said...

Love the color and the ingredients :)

Kerstin said...

What a beautiful sorbet, love the pears and POM together - yum!

Creative Classroom Core said...

POM and Pear really do go AMAZING together! That pic is fantastic!

Foodiewife said...

I am a huge fan of sorbets. They're simple and delicious. I just made a strawberry watermelon sorbet, but my son ate it all before I could photograph it! This also sounds like a wonderful combo. As always, great photos....love the depth of field on the bottle of juice and pears...very tricky!

Zsofi Anna said...

OMG, that looks delicious! I absolutely love sorbet; that is very very tempting indeed.

Shari said...

This looks delightfully refreshing!! What could be better on a hot, sunny day than sitting on the verandah nibbling at this! Wow!

Delectable Dining said...

Wow~ this looks so refreshing!

Sophie said...

Birthdays are always tasty with you around! How pretty this looks, she must've been a happy mother in law :).

Maria said...

What a great birthday treat...or really any day treat!

Kathy said...

This looks great! I still have not tried POM juice!!!

I left you an award over on our blog! :o)

Juliana said...

Absolutely love the combination...pom and pear...must taste like heaven, and the color is just amazing. Yummie! Great pictures as well.

Elissa said...

What a great flavor combination, and it makes such a beautiful color too!

I like the shots with the two different focuses :)

A New England Girl said...

This looks so delicious. I can't wait to try it!! :)

My First Kitchen said...

I know I'm way behind on the game here, but this. looks. AMAZING. I can't wait to try it. And since it's pomegranate and pear season around here, this coludn't be more perfect. Thanks for the great idea!

Unknown said...

Somebody get me a spoon, this looks so good!

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