Friday, May 9, 2014

Wine and Pineapple Sorbet #MoscatoDay

This is soooo simple, but so good. It's refreshing as a dessert, or scoop it into a glass for a slushy drink. This doesn't freeze completely solid, but I thought it was best at slightly warmer than freezer temperatures so the texture was soft rather than crystallized. But that's easy enough. Just let it sit out for a short while. Or, serve it right after churning. It was really tasty right out of the ice cream maker.

I used fresh pineapple, but I'm sure canned would be just fine. And toss in whatever liquid comes with the pineapple. It's all good.

Depending on how sweet or tart your pineapple is - and how sweet or tart your wine is - you might want to adjust the sugar level. I used a pink moscato for one batch and Sterling Vintner's Central Coast Aromatic White for the other.

My best suggestion: Use what you like to drink. The pink wine (it was very pale) didn't seem to color the resulting sorbet very much, but I'm sure a red wine would - so proceed at your own risk. I'm not sure what color you'd end up with, or if you'd like it.

While this recipe is perfect with just three simple ingredients - the flavor is fresh and bright - it could also be adapted easily. Add some vanilla for depth, or mint for its green sparkle, or some citrus for tartness. The options are endless.

What would YOU add?

Wine and Pineapple Sorbet

Mmmmm ... fresh pineapple!
1 cup wine (Sterling Vintner's Central Coast Aromatic White, here), chilled
2 cup chopped pineapple with juice, chilled
1/2 cup sugar

Blend all the ingredients in your blender (or food processor) until it's as smooth as you can get it. The sugar should dissolve during this blend, but give it a stir to make sure there are no grainy bits remaining.

Churn in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

Note: If your wine and pineapple weren't chilled to begin with, chill them after blending, then give them a hearty stir before you churn. If you start with warm ingredients and you use a freezer-bowl style of ice cream maker, it might not freeze thoroughly before the bowl thaws. If you use a compressor-style ice cream maker, you can get away with using slightly warmer ingredients.

Serve directly from the ice cream maker, or pack into a container and freeze for later.
Yum