Verdant Sorbet

[kerravonsen]

Deep in her green sanctuary, the Vegetable Avenger stirs her latest icy confection.

Strip every leaf, Ivy!

Experiment #63: Cucumber Basil Sorbet
Recipe:
* 3 Lebanese cucumbers
* 1 bunch fresh Basil (sorry, that's how I bought it)
* 6 T Natvia (Stevia and Erythritol blend)
* 1 T Jamsetta (mix of sugar, pectin and citric acid)

Peel cucumbers with a potato-peeler, chop roughly.
Strip the basil leaves from their stems.
Puree the cucumber and basil leaves together.
Add Jamsetta and Natvia; blend thoroughly.
Process in ice-cream machine.

Whys: Because I wanted to experiment with basil again, and I thought that perhaps cucumber would add some nice neutral bulk. Also I wanted to experiment with pectin too.

Result:
Colour is a light green with tiny dark green flecks from the basil. I expect it would be a darker green again if I hadn't peeled the cucumbers.
Texture is very icy, granita-like.
Taste is sweet-spicy basil, an undertone of cucumber and a touch of tangy-ness from the citric acid in the Jamsetta.

Verdict:
Flavour - absolutely delicious.
Texture - half-fail. I mean, I'd rather have something granita-like than frozen solid or rubbery.

Lessons:
(a) The balance of flavour in the cucumber + basil + citric acid mix is very good; do that again.
(b) I'm not really sure what I need to tweak to improve the texture. I suspect that the pectin didn't work because it wasn't heated up.


I also got called up by someone from an Indian call centre, saying that they were from the "Windows Maintenance Department" and that my "Windows computer was having error messages". Of course, I knew it was a scam, and I led him on for a bit before telling him that there weren't any Windows computers in the house. I would have liked to have messed with his head a bit more, but his accent was so thick, I had to keep on asking him to repeat what he said, because I couldn't understand half his words.

Comments

[vilakins]

Maybe add some yogurt for more creaminess?

I just say, "This is a scam" and put the phone down on those calls.

[kerravonsen]

Maybe add some yogurt for more creaminess?
Yes, but I'm afraid it would dilute the flavour.

I just say, "This is a scam" and put the phone down on those calls.
That's what I did the first time I got such a call.

[kalypso]

I'm so fed up with them - there are some weeks where they seem to ring me every day. The very first time I played along for a while to see what they would do, up to the point where he wanted me to click on a website which would apparently have given them control of the computer. Now I just say "Goodbye" during their opening sentence. Life's too short.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

We've had a lot of that particular scam here in the UK. I've had one or two such calls myself, and I too have had trouble in understanding the callers' accents.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

You always experiment with such interesting flavors!

[kerravonsen]

I think that's half the point. No, probably less than half the point, but still, a part of the point. 8-)