This hibiscus peach sorbet has a beautiful peachy note layered with citrus flavor from the hibiscus flowers. It's the perfect dessert to cool down during those hot summer days.
Every weekend, we buy about ten pounds of peaches from Sweet Tree Farms at the Hillcrest farmers market. They sell a few varieties but our favorite is the incredibly sweet and juicy Elegant Lady Yellow Peach. Besides snacking on them, they go into many cakes, tarts, and salads. With the heat wave hitting the high 80s, I wanted to make a sorbet to cool down and found a lovely recipe for a hibiscus peach sorbet from the Cannelle et Vanille cookbook by Aran Goyoaga. The sorbet was refreshing with a beautiful peachy note layered with citrus flavor from the hibiscus flowers.
Ingredient Notes
- Hibiscus flowers: Use dried hibiscus flowers for this recipe. They impart a brilliant ruby-red color and a slightly tea-like, floral note with a hint of citrus. You can find hibiscus flowers online, at tea shops, and the grocery stores.
- Peach: peach season peaks from July to August. Pick freestone peaches that are slightly soft to touch but just before they become overripe. Freestones have pits that are easily removed, a coarser and more fibrous texture, and a richer flavor due to more time developing on the tree. Use either white or yellow peaches for this sorbet. The color will vary depending on what you use.
Tips for Making Sorbet
- Make the hibiscus simple syrup first to infuse the citrus flavor.
- My peaches were sweet so I used a simple syrup with ratio of 1 cup of water to 1 cup of sugar. If your peaches aren't as sweet, add another ¼ cup of sugar.
- Let the hibiscus simple syrup cool down completely.
- Use a high speed blender and you don't need to peel the skin of the peaches.
- Puree and strain the peach mixture to get a smooth sorbet.
- Once frozen, the sweetness will decrease so add a little more simple syrup when the liquid mixture tastes just right.
- Sorbet takes longer to freeze than ice cream. The sorbet needs at least 6 hours in the freezer to set and for the flavor to full develop. It’s even better if you leave it overnight.
The sorbet had a sweet and peachy flavor balanced by the tang from the hibiscus. I threw in some currants for a pop of tartness but feel free to serve it with raspberries or sliced peaches. This hibiscus peach sorbet is the perfect way to celebrate the end of peach season!
For more sorbet inspiration, you might like these recipes: cardamom apricot sorbet, strawberry and elderflower sorbet, cardamom blood orange sorbet.
Hibiscus Peach Sorbet
Equipment
- High speed blender
- Ice cream machine
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup dried hibiscus flower
- 1.5 pounds peaches, pitted and quartered
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup fresh raspberries, red currants, or sliced peaches for serving
Instructions
- Place water, sugar, and hibiscus flowers in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and whisk occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.
- Remove saucepan from heat and let it stand for 30 minutes so the flowers can flavor the water. Strain and discard solids.
- In a high speed blender, combine peaches, lemon juice, salt, and hibiscus syrup. Puree mixture until smooth.
- Strain mixture into a bowl and chill for 2 hours in refrigerator.
- Pour sorbet base into ice cream maker bowl and process according to manufacturer's instructions until thick, about 20-25 minutes.
- Spoon sorbet into a freezer-safe container and cover with plastic wrap. Freezer for 6 hours or overnight.
- Before serving, remove sorbet from freezer for 5 minutes before scooping.
- Serve sorbet with fresh berries or sliced peaches.
Jane
Love the peach flavor. Very refreshing!