The One-Ingredient Hack For Delicious Sorbet Overnight

If you're in the mood for something frozen, refreshing, and lighter than ice cream, you can't really do better than sorbet. As it turns out, you can create this delightful frozen treat pretty easily with things you probably have sitting in the pantry right now: If you've got a can of fruit in syrup and a food processor, you've got yourself sorbet.

It's true you could buy a pint of sorbet in the frozen section of your local supermarket without too much effort. But if you don't mind waiting for the time it takes to freeze a can of fruit (which can happen overnight while you sleep), you can enjoy delicious sorbet for a fraction of the price without even having to leave the house. As if it couldn't get any easier, consider this: Using canned fruit to make sorbet involves almost no preparation. You don't need to slice or dice anything or add additional sweetener or juice –- it's throw-and-go all the way.

If you're making sorbet out of canned fruit in syrup alone, simply pop the can into the freezer for about 12 hours (maybe longer if the can is larger than the standard 16 ounces). Afterward, remove the solid fruit block from the can and cut it into food processor-friendly pieces. (You may consider breaking down the canned fruit first and putting the pieces into a freezer bag first or using an ice cube tray for ease of processing.) If you want to get a little fancier and can spare the effort, dress up your sorbet with additional ingredients like other fruits or even alcohol for a boozy twist.  

It's important to note that if you do decide to add anything besides the fruit in syrup, it may affect the texture of the sorbet. Alcohol especially will keep the sorbet looser and not allow it to set as firmly after processing and refreezing. It will be every bit as delicious, but you will end up with a softer dessert. You may even find it preferable, particularly if you're serving guests, to add sorbet to a cocktail or top with fresh fruit at the time of plating to preserve its texture; this way, you can make it look fancy while keeping things simple.

Sorbet differs from ice cream and its cousin, sherbet because it's dairy-free. This gives it a different texture and weight — sorbet is a bit icier than its dairy-based relatives (especially the homemade kind, as it's not processed the same way as the typical store-bought varieties). Homemade sorbet will always be icier because it is blended and not churned, though you can achieve smoother, small-batch sorbet at home if you use the right kind of canned fruit. 

Fruit that is higher in pectin, or fruit sugar, yields a creamier finish — so orchard favorites like peaches and pears with their syrup will create smoother sorbet. Happily, peaches and pears are readily available in a can. If you want a sorbet that feels more like shaved ice, complement the can method and try cutting up watery fruit like watermelon or oranges. You can adjust the sorbet texture when using a lower sugar and higher water fruit by adding syrup to the recipe. That will yield the best of both worlds: the desired flavor along with a velvety texture.